A complaint against DStv Mobile for its advertising slogan “anytime, anywhere” has been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
A consumer complaint was lodged against DStv Mobile based on advertising that appeared on the Supersport Web site. The advertisement showed an image of the Drifta device and stated “DStv anytime, anywhere”.
The complaint was based on the fact that the customer could not connect to the service while in Middleburg, due to the lack of signal coverage.
DStv Mobile argued that the advertising was meant to promote the Drifta as a means of enabling a consumer access to DStv Mobile services, away from traditional sitting room viewing.
The Drifta is a mobile decoder that allows the user to receive DStv mobile service on devices like cellphones, laptops, PCs and tablets.
It was acknowledged that the DStv mobile service is available in all provinces albeit on a limited scale. MultiChoice does, however, offer a coverage map on its Web site, and Middleburg is not among the areas covered. The specific advert in question has also been removed.
The reasonable consumer
”Effectively, the question is whether or not the advertising claim 'DStv anytime, anywhere' misleadingly implies that the respondent offers this service across the entire SA, as the complainant appears to suggest,” says the ASA ruling.
”The directorate does not believe it is unreasonable to expect that, for a product offering such as the Drifta, coverage may be reliant on topography and building factors, much like one often finds that cellphone reception is non-existent in certain areas.
”Based on this, the hypothetical reasonable person would not be misled by the claim 'anytime, anywhere' as it is not a reference to nationwide availability, but rather to the nature of the device as being portable, thus allowing you to watch on the go whenever you want,” concluded the ASA.
The complaint was accordingly dismissed.
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