Orcon has appealed a recent Advertising Standards Authority decision, which said its latest TV campaign was misleading.
The latest campaign starring Kim Dotcom said Orcon provided “truly unlimited broadband.”
A majority of the ASA’s complaints board said there was a high level of ambiguity in the ad.
It said the average consumer would associate the word “unlimited” with data and “truly” to speed, and Orcon’s fair use policy was a limit that contradicted the “truly unlimited” claim.
Orcon’s fair use policy had allowed the internet provider to restrict or apply charges if it thought a customer’s usage was so heavy it materially exceeded estimated use patterns over any month, or Orcon believed the use of internet would affect the quality of service for other customers.
Orcon says it never enforced the policy, and is appealing on the basis that it scrapped the policy last week. It says it has never enforced it.
The internet provider says the decision was regarding a small technicality and it still stands by its uncapped plans claiming that Kiwis can "go for gold" when it comes to data use.
The ASA received two complaints on the Dotcom advertisement, from M Gordon and B Meyer about the "truly unlimited" claim.
The ad starring Mr Dotcom was earlier scrutinised by the ASA when a complainant, S George, said it was mocking those in poverty. The ASA said because the ad was a parody and would not cause widespread offence there were no grounds to proceed.
NBR Staff
Tue, 17 Dec 2013
Tue, 17 Dec 2013
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Orcon appeals ASA decision on Dotcom ad
34604