ASA rules against Telkom ad

In the commercial a number of consumers are asked the question "By how much has your total Telkom bill been increased?", with various answers been given. The payoff line "Average increase of only 5.5%" (increase kept below inflation rate) appears at the end of the visuals.

Nine complainants from various sectors of the industry submitted that while there is a different tariff increase on various categories of calls, the general increase is over 30%, therefore the claim "Average increase of only 5.5%" in the advertisement creates a misleading impression as a 5.5% increase is clearly a misrepresentation of fact.

Telkom responded with a summary of their various rates in support of the 5.5% increase claim, pointing out that representative samples of consumer bills were analysed by Telkom as a basis. A weighting was given to the local call, landline to cell, long distance and international call components of these bills. The weighting was then applied against the average decreases and increases to arrive at a 5.5% increase figure for an average consumer’s bill.

The Code of Advertising Practise states that all descriptions, claims and comparisons which relate to matters of objectively ascertainable fact should be capable of substantiation under the Code and advertisers and advertising agencies are required to hold and make such substantiation readily available to the ASA on request, normally within 48 hours. The Code also says that advertisements should not contain any statement or visual presentation which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, or exaggerated claim is likely to mislead consumers about the product advertised, the advertiser or about any other product or advertiser.

The ASA ruled that although the advertiser submitted in-house documentation in support of the claim "Average increase of only 5.5% ... ", the documentation does not meet the requirements of Section II , Clause 4.1 of the Code, which says that the substantiation should be evaluated and confirmed by a credible independent research entity. They also said that given the nature of the documentation submitted the services of an auditing firm may be sufficient for this purpose. The ASA Directorate is therefore of the view that the claim is unsubstantiated in terms of the requirement of the Code and therefore misleading, and that all advertising using the claim at issue is to be withdrawn immediately.