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Mar. 30, 2010

There was a recommendation last Friday by the National Advertising Review Board that Sprint Nextel stop claiming in its advertisements that it has America’s most dependable 3G network.

Sprint's ad claims were initially challenged by rival Verizon Wireless, which also claims to have the largest 3G network in its advertisements, in front of the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in the U.S.

The NARB panel noted that Sprint Nextel “lacked sufficient support” for its claim, which the wireless carrier countered in an appeal that was supported in part by independent mobile data network performance benchmark tests conducted by Nielsen Mobile.

But NARB noted that the data used to support the claim was from tests that began in Jan. 2008, and that a more recent test begun in June of the same year by Nielsen Mobile showed Verizon Wireless posted better connection success, faster speed and session reliability results.

For its part, Sprint Nextel argued that it posted better results in the third measurement in Nielsen Mobile’s testing of its signal strength that supported its most dependable claim.

Overall, the NARB also determined that those results weren't sufficient to support the claim either.

Sprint Nextel also argued that a footnote in its advertisement cites the testing date as well the reliance on signal strength as a factor in the most dependable claim.

Nevertheless,the NARB panel did not agree with those qualifiers.

NARB noted in its decision that its determination was supported by Nielsen policy, which states that national claims using mobile test data must be based on the “most recent data available.”

“Overall, wireless users will reasonably interpret a most dependable network claim as indicating the current status of the network, not its performance in ultimate tests that have been superseded by more recent tests, and thus the disclaimer contradicts rather than qualifies the main message of the advertisement,” the panel decision states.

Sprint Nextel also added in a statement that it “respectfully disagrees with the NARB's decision and maintains that its dependability claim was fully substantiated based on tests that were designed by industry experts to measure how consumers use 3G data networks.”

Sprint Nextel said it had “discontinued the challenged claims and will take the NARB's decision into account when developing future advertisements.”

Last year, a previous challenge by Verizon Wireless resulted in a recommendation that AT&T Mobility modify its “More bars in more places” TV commercials.

In this highly competitive market place, you can expect more of this as other wireless carriers and mobile service operators sometimes grossly exaggerate their claims in an effort to gain additional market share from some rivals.

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Source: The National Advertising Review Board.