MTN Bozza network fight
The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) has partially upheld a complaint by Vodacom regarding MTN’s Bozza mobile network advertising.
Vodacom lodged a complaint with the ASA over MTN’s advertising, arguing that MTN’s network claims are unsubstantiated.
MTN’s Bozza advertising features the following statements:
- Superior quality when it comes to streaming music and HD video.
- Ensure that your calls have a 99.9% chance of not being dropped.
Vodacom said that data from Ookla and OpenSignal show Vodacom offers the best data speeds in the country.
Vodacom said the latest ATIO report also showed that MTN did not achieve a dropped call rate of less than 0.1% as claimed.
MTN responded, explaining that it has achieved a 99% call success rate, and that the 99.9% claim was a result of human error.
The company added that it did not claim to have the best-quality network, but rather a “superior” one – which it interprets as having one of the best networks in South Africa.
MTN said it and Vodacom have better networks than Telkom and Cell C, and its network can therefore be considered superior.
The ASA was not convinced, saying a reasonable consumer will interpret the “superior” claim as being better than its competitors.
The ASA upheld Vodacom’s complaint, and ruled that MTN must withdraw its “superior quality” claim with immediate effect.
Now read: Forget best, we are “SA’s Bozza mobile network”
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