Ad Monitor: Verizon Fios '#1' Ads May Mislead
Verizon should clarify ads claiming its Fios internet and TV services are No. 1, the National Advertising Review Board ruled Tuesday. NARB is the appellate unit of the advertising industry’s self-regulatory system and is administered by the Council of Better…
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Business Bureaus. Comcast had challenged Verizon claims including: “In customer satisfaction studies FiOS is rated #1 in Internet speed … 8 years running,” and “TV service rated number one in HD picture quality … based on customer satisfaction studies." The National Advertising Division (NAD) agreed with Comcast that the claims “communicated a superiority message,” as opposed to that Verizon customers are more satisfied, and recommended the telco stop making the claims. Verizon appealed to NARB, but the board also agreed with Comcast that the ads could leave viewers with the impression that the No. 1 rating is based on a comparison of service quality rather than customer satisfaction. Verizon said it will consider the NARB recommendations in future ads. "It’s not surprising that Comcast would argue over semantics to distract from their usual poor performance in consumer satisfaction surveys," a Verizon spokesman said. "No matter how you phrase it, Verizon Fios has the happiest customers." Earlier this month, the NAD reprimanded Sprint for promising savings of 50 percent to consumers who switch to the company from other national carriers (see 1606030049).