T-Mobile accused of running misleading ad starring Snoop Dogg, Patrick Mahomes
One of T-Mobile's recent advertisements included a claim that the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) found to be "ambiguous." As a result, the NAD recommends that T-Mobile discontinue or modify the ad which claims that consumers subscribing to T-Mobile can "save 20% every month vs. the other big guys." The big question is which T-Mobile competitors are "the other big guys."
Charter Communications, the company that owns Spectrum Mobile, used the NAD's Fast-Track SWIFT process to file a complaint against T-Mobile's ad. This is an expedited challenge offered by the NAD to those complaining about just one thing related to an advertisement. The ad, titled "Top Three Plays of the Day," stars Snoop Dogg who gives narration about three "plays" with some of them featuring Kansas City Chief's Quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Play number three shows Mahomes running into a T-Mobile store while play number two has the Chief's signal caller holding up an iPhone 16 Pro like it's baby Simba in The Lion King (Yeah, I stole that from Snoop Dogg). The first and top play of the day is T-Mobile's iPhone 16 on Us deal along with the pricing that allows families to save 20% compared to the prices charged by "the other big guys" by using T-Mobile's wireless service.
Charter argued that the comment made by T-Mobile that its service is 20% cheaper than the other big guys includes Charter's Spectrum Mobile. The NAD determined that it isn't clear which of T-Mobile's competitors are included in "the other big guys" statement and said that the statement is "ambiguous."
The NAD pointed out that consumers who saw the ad within Spectrum's limited coverage area could reasonably assume that Spectrum Mobile was one of "the other big guys" and that T-Mobile's ad was stating that its wireless service could save Spectrum Mobile customers 20% if they switch to T-Mobile. But the NAD discovered that any Spectrum customer switching to T-Mobile would not achieve the 20% savings in their first year with T-Mobile because of a promotional offer that ends after year one.
So while the disputed ad says "Families Can Save," if Spectrum is included among "the other big guys" that T-Mobile compares its prices with, the advertised 20% savings might not materialize if a Spectrum Mobile customer switches to T-Mobile. That would make the ad misleading.
The NAD recommends that T-Mobile discontinue the ad or modify it to include the names of the carriers that T-Mobile calls "the other big guys." T-Mobile said that it was disappointed with NAD's decision and plans on appealing it to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB). Keep in mind that T-Mobile does not have to follow the NAD's recommendation. However, if a company fails to follow the NAD's recommendation, the matter can be referred by the NAD to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC can investigate and take action against deceptive ads.
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