| Bulletin | 09/6 |
| Batch No. | 189 |
| Ref | 12447 |
| Product | TV/Audio/Video |
| Advertiser | The Irish Times Reader Offer |
| Agency | |
| Medium | Press |
| Complaint Advertisement: The Irish Times Reader Offer, offered readers the opportunity to purchase a 7in LCD TV for only €139.99. The offer was accompanied by a picture of a television with a stand alone aerial and remote control. The offer read as follows: “Inovalley digital Freeview 7in LCD TV. Integrated digital photo frame and radio alarm clock. Perfect for the bedside table or kitchen this digital TV comes with its own aerial for perfect digital TV reception. It features a large crisp 7in colour screen makes it easy to watch your favourite programmes or you can insert your memory card (SD, MS, MMS) and it becomes a digital photo frame (reads WMA, JPEG, MP3 and MPEG4 formats). You can even listen to FM radio and set the alarm to wake up to your favourite station or breakfast TV, with snooze function! This digital TV features built in stereo speakers, a resolution of 480x234 pixels. Included are a power adaptor and aerial and it also comes with a 12 month guarantee”. The offer was accompanied by an Order Form. Complaint: The complainant objected to the use of the words “aerial” and “digital TV reception” in the same sentence of the advertisement as this he said implied that the television on offer was capable of supplying Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and that this simply was not the case. The complainant said that to receive digital TV reception in Ireland a TV must be MPEG4 compatible and that this was not the case with the television on offer. |
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| 2006 Code | |
| 2002 Code |
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| Response The advertisers in their response said that they had been assured by the supplier of the television that it was capable of receiving digital television transmissions and broadcasts in this country of Freeview TV. They said that it could not access subscription based broadcast as customers must pay to view such services. The advertisers said that the television unit was MPEG4 compatible in relation to a USB used in connection with the photo frame functionality; they said that this was made quite clear in the context of the photo frame feature. |
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| Conclusion Complaint Upheld. The Complaints Committee noted the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. In relation to the advertisers’ claim that the television was capable of receiving DTT they pointed out that there was currently no DTT service in Ireland and that ‘Freeview’ referred to the service available in the UK. They considered that the statement in the advertisement could lead some consumers to believe that the television advertised would be able to receive DTT via the aerial and was therefore misleading and in breach of the Code. Action Required: The advertisement must not run in its current format again. |
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