Virgin Media rapped for DM campaign after Sky complaint
A Virgin Media DM campaign has been banned because it was not clearly identified as marketing communication following a complaint from rival BSkyB.
The mailing, sent in June, was contained in a jiffy bag, which the Advertising Standards Authority said failed to make clear that it was sent with commercial intent.
The jiffy bag featured two lines of text stating “This package contains promotional material from Virgin Media” and “Please see inside for Legal Stuff” but the ASA found the first was considerably smaller than other copy on the envelope and could be overlooked.
The regulator said the second statement, which featured on the back of the jiffy bag, was unlikely to be understood by consumers to mean the mailing was a marketing communication.
Virgin Media said because the copy on the on the front of the envelope was placed vertically, it stood out from other text, meaning there could be “no doubt” about the source or nature of the mailing.
The ASA has ruled that Virgin it must make future direct mailings more clear that they are marketing communications.
