Vodafone rapped over mobile internet ad

Vodafone's mobile data ad will not be allowed to appear again in its current form

Vodafone has been admonished by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a poster ad which implied that its flat-rate mobile data offering was unlimited.

A poster advertising Vodafone's internet service via mobile phones said: 'Any website, any time. £7.50 a month.'

Small print on the poster did specify that the deal was limited to 120MB UK data allowance per month, and that other terms and conditions applied.

However, one person challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that Vodafone offered unlimited use for £7.50 a month.

Vodafone said that it had given very careful thought to the wording in the ad and that the word 'any' meant "some, or even the smallest amount of".

The firm also argued that it did not believe that the headline referred to, or implied, duration of use, and that the small-print in the ad made the data allowance clear.

The ASA upheld the complaint stating that, despite the disclaimer at the bottom of the poster, consumers would infer from the headline that they could access the internet as often as they liked for £7.50 a month.

The watchdog has stipulated that the ad should not appear again in its current form.