National Advertising Review Board Recommends AT&T Discontinue or Modify Supplemental-Coverage-from-Space Claim
08 Agosto 2024 - 10:00AM
A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the
appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs, recommended
that AT&T Services, Inc. discontinue or modify the claim that
Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) is currently available to
AT&T consumers.
The advertising at
issue had been challenged by T-Mobile US, Inc. before BBB National
Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) as part of NAD’s
Fast-Track SWIFT expedited challenge process, designed for
single-issue advertising cases. Following NAD’s decision (Case No.
7335), AT&T appealed NAD’s recommendations.
It was not disputed
that AT&T does not currently offer SCS coverage to its cellular
customers. In agreeing with NAD, the NARB panel concluded that one
reasonable message conveyed by AT&T’s “Epic Bad Golf Day”
commercial (which shows an AT&T cellular call connecting
through a satellite relay and displays the visual “making satellite
connection”) is that SCS technology is currently available to
customers of AT&T’s mobile service.
Therefore, the NARB
panel recommended that AT&T discontinue the claim that SCS
service is presently available to consumers or modify the claim to
clearly and conspicuously communicate that SCS is not available at
this time.
The NARB panel noted
that nothing in its decision precludes AT&T from making
truthful and non-misleading aspirational claims about SCS.
AT&T stated that
although the company respectfully disagrees with “NARB’s conclusion
recommending that the commercial be discontinued or modified,” it
“supports NARB’s self-regulatory process and will comply with
NARB’s decision.”
All BBB National
Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case
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About BBB
National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit
organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry
self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally
recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust
in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide
third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that
address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer
playing field for businesses, and a better experience for
consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and
grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best
practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed
marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty,
technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit
bbbprograms.org.
About the
National Advertising Review Board (NARB): The
National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate
body for BBB National Programs’ advertising self-regulatory
programs. NARB’s panel members include 85 distinguished
volunteer professionals from the national
advertising industry, agencies, and public
members, such as academics and former members of the
public sector. NARB serves as a layer of independent
industry peer review that helps engender trust and compliance in
NAD, CARU, and DSSRC matters.
Jennie Rosenberg
Media Relations
BBB National Programs
press@bbbnp.org