An advert for BT's fibre optic broadband service BT Infinity has been banned for basing an "eight times faster" claim on old data.
The television ad showed a man using an online dating service on his laptop and apparently instantaneously uploading a better photo of himself on the advice of his female flatmate, before another flatmate bought concert tickets from a website in the space of a short conversation.
A voiceover at the end of the ad said: "Eight times faster fibre optic broadband. Infinity, from BT," while on-screen text read "BT Infinity. Eight times faster fibre optic broadband."
The website productsandservices.bt.com said: "Infinity 2 has arrived... Eight times faster: speeds based on Infinity Option 2 average customer speed and UK average from Ofcom report, Feb 2012."
One person complained that the ad was misleading and could not be substantiated because the figures were not based on the most up-to-date Ofcom report. Four others challenged whether the speed of the photo transfer and upload and the ticket buying process was misleading and exaggerated the performance of BT Infinity.
BT said the claims were based on the most up-to-date report available when the ad was cleared.
But the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that BT failed to make it clear the claim was not based on the most up-to-date data. It said: "The ad exaggerated the performance of BT Infinity."
It ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, and said: "We told BT to base their speed claims on the most up-to-date data and to present qualifications clearly in future."
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