A series of advertisements using high profile stars like tennis player John McEnroe has got Telstra Corportion Ltd into some hot water with the the country's key consumer watchdog which prompted the telco to amend its message and dilute its claims of cove
A series of advertisements using high profile stars like tennis player John McEnroe has got Telstra Corportion Ltd into some hot water with the the country's key consumer watchdog, prompting the telco to amend its message and dilute its claims of coverage.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it had approached Telstra with concerns about claims in the ads - such as the extent of the network and its reliability.
An ACCC spokesperson said the ads had been adjusted.
In the ad series celebrities like Mr McEnroe, actor Dustin Hoffman and rockstar-cum-charity-worker Bob Geldof get frustrated by mobile phone coverage in their own countries, comparing it to what is available in Australia.
Mr McEnroe smashes his phone in a lift, having used his trademark call, "you can't be serious", reminiscent of his days as a highly strung tennis champ who wrecked raquets and yelled at umpires.
A Telstra spokesman has reportedly referred to the matter as nitpicking given its Next G network - the subject of the advertising - reaches 98.8 per cent of Australia's population.
The spokesman said Telstra had made the changes and the company was left scratching it head over the matter.
"We trust the ACCC would now investigate the ads our competitors run that suggest that tigers can read stock tips and baboons can use phones," the spokesman told the Macquarie radio network.
See below for the ACCC announcement:
Telstra Corporation Limited has withdrawn and amended a series of television advertisements promoting its Next G mobile network after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised concerns that the advertisements may mislead consumers about the coverage available on the network.
"Telstra has been promoting the Next G network extensively since its launch in October 2006," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"As part of its promotional campaign, Telstra has run a series of nationwide television advertisements making bold representations about the coverage that consumers would receive when using the Next G network.
"The ACCC had particular concerns about Telstra's unqualified use of the taglines Everywhere you need it and Get the coverage you need with Telstra's Next G network, when the whole of Australia is not covered and coverage is not always available where consumers need it," Mr Samuel said.
The ACCC was also concerned that Telstra's television advertisements conveyed the impression that service quality issues such as call interference and call drop-outs would not happen on the Next G network.
"An important message to any one making bold claims in their advertising, as Telstra has done, is that the message conveyed to consumers and the goods or services ultimately delivered to those consumers must match."
Telstra has responded promptly, indicating that it will no longer use the taglines Everywhere you need it and Get the coverage you need with Telstra's Next G network and has amended its television advertisements accordingly.
"All traders must ensure that claims about the performance and quality of goods and services can be substantiated," Mr Samuel said.