A campaign for Sky Wi-Fi using characters from the animation The Incredibles 2 has been partially upheld by the ASA.
Three issues were investigated, of which one was Upheld and two were Not upheld.
In the TV version of the ad a Sky engineer explains that he has made to the Wi-Fi set-up before ‘Dash’ is seen running around a house testing the Wi-Fi. The national press ad showed ‘Elastigirl’ stretching out her leg with the caption “Incredible Wi-Fi Reaching through your Home.
BT and Virgin objected saying the claim to have “Boosted your Sky Wi-Fi” was misleading. Virgin said the ads were misleading because they believed the ads implied that consumers could obtain consistent Wi-Fi everywhere in and around their home; and challenged whether the claim that broadband was “Superfast in the kitchen” could be substantiated.
Sky said the ad made clear that adjustments to the service would need to be made and that customers would understand the term boosted. They pointed to on-screen text which stated “Additional kit may be required”.
The broadcaster’s technical team had explained to the ASA the nature of the technology upgrade. They also provided case studies explaining how individual customers had been helped.
The ASA upheld the first part of the complaint, that Sky had not sufficiently made clear the adjustments an engineer would make. Two further complaints were not upheld, on grounds the improvements described by Dash would not be interpreted as being the same throughout the house, and that readers of the print ad would see Incredible as a reference to the service reaching throughout the house rather than an overall description.
