ASA castigates Vodafone again

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Vodafone has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the second time this year over its “flirting” ad.

The campaign, created by WCRS, uses the tagline: “Get the flirting over with before you get home. Text Make your

move while you’re still on the move.” The ASA has ruled that the ad could encourage people to text people while driving and has asked the advertiser not to repeat the ads.

Last month, the ASA had asked the mobile phone company to stop using sexually gratuitous images in its advertising. The ad in question showed a couple on a stairwell, with the woman’s leg over the shoulder of a man kneeling between her legs (MW October 17).

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London Electricity, which owns SWEB and Virgin Energy brands, has also come under fire for making misleading claims, following complaints by rival British Gas. The LE ads in question use the tagline: “70 per cent of SWEB customers switch back” and “SWEB gets seven times fewer complaints than British Gas”.

LE has been asked to consult the Copy Advice Team before advertising again.

The ASA has also upheld a First Direct complaint against Halifax’s Intelligent Finance (IF) over a claim that IF is “the no.1 direct bank in the UK.” IF has been asked not to repeat the claim.

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