Vodacom nailed over its 4G/LTE coverage claim
The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) has found that Vodacom’s “4G/LTE coverage in remote areas” claim is unsubstantiated.
Vodacom’s Summer advertising campaign featured an advert where a pastor ran out of fuel in a remote area of the country, leaving a wedding party waiting for him.
Armed with a phone receiving a 4G signal, the pastor conducted the wedding via a video call.
One consumer was not happy with the advertisement, highlighting that Vodacom does not have extensive 4G or LTE coverage in rural areas.
In his complaint to the ASA, he used Vodacom’s coverage map to show that the operator does not have 4G or LTE coverage in any remote areas.
Vodacom responded through its advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather, arguing that the company has extensive 3G and LTE coverage in South Africa.
It stated that Vodacom covers remote and rural areas with 627 4G/LTE towers, serving at least one million LTE users.
The ASA was not convinced, stating that Vodacom’s advertisement exaggerated the extent to which it could offer 4G/LTE services in remote and rural areas.
The ASA found that Vodacom’s advertisement was misleading, and ordered Vodacom to withdraw it with immediate effect.
This follows a December 2015 ruling by the ASA in which Vodacom was instructed to remove the term 4G from its marketing material.
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