Virgin Media angers Sky with Stop the Broadband Con campaign
The satellite broadcaster complained Virgin's initiative is misleading.
Virgin Media's Stop the Broadband Con initiative was always likely to ruffle a few feathers, so it's no surprise to learn Sky has got in touch with the Advertising Standards Authority regarding the matter.The cable company's promo calls for consumers to demand an end to internet service providers (ISPs) promoting headline "up to" speeds that are not available in the real world.
In launching the campaign, Virgin Media revealed a staggering 93 per cent of respondents to its survey want tighter advertising guidelines to prevent companies displaying unrealistic download capabilities.
A letter written by Sky's lawyers - seen earlier this week by the Daily Telegraph - described the campaign as "grossly misleading".
The satellite broadcaster took particular offence to one of Virgin Media's YouTube ads, which branded Sky's marketing activities as "poxy".
While Virgin's campaign may have bordered on the childish at times, we're fully in favour of its overriding message - that ISPs should not be allowed to promote speeds that they cannot realistically deliver.
With nine in ten people stating they find current broadband ads misleading, it's clear that something needs to be done about the issue.
Our only problem with Virgin's scheme is that preventing the use of "up to" speeds potentially opens up another can of worms.
Forcing ISPs to advertise figures that are available to a certain percentage of customers could lead to providers with a largely rural customer base promoting lower headline rates than their urban counterparts, even if they are technically offering the same service.
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