MTN in Hot Water With Advertising Board After “10GB of Data for R99” Ad Found to Be Misleading to Customers

• An ambiguous advert about 10GB of data for R99 has landed telecommunication giant MTN in hot water
• The ARB ruled that MTN misled customers when it failed to state the data was split between daytime and nighttime data
• The advertising ordered the telecommunications company to remove all adverts from all locations within a specified timeframe

JOHANNESBURG - South African Telecommunications company MTN has landed itself in the naughty corner over a misleading advertisement about data.

Ambiguous BozzaGigs LTE bundles advert lands MTN in hot water

The Advertising Regulatory Board found that the telecommunications giant deceived customers with an ad claiming that customers can buy 10GB of data for R99 but failed to indicate that the data was split into 5GB Anytime Data and 5GB Night Express Data, IOL reported.

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In its defence, MTN argued that the way the BozzaGigs LTE bundles were divided was stipulated in the terms and conditions.

ARB rules against MTN in misleading BozzaGigs LTE bundles complaint

The ARB ruled that while MTN was clear about how much the BozzaGigs LTE bundles cost, the allocation was unclear.

The board also didn't buy MTN's argument that the stipulations were in the Ts&Cs, adding that terms and conditions cannot be used to rectify misleading impressions.

The ARB ruled that the advert was misleading to customers and ordered MTN to remove the advert everywhere, News24 reported.

South Africans weigh in on ARB ruling against MTN

Below are some comments:

@bigkoostar complained:

"@MTNza seems to be applying dishonest tactics in its marketing & advertising."

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@BougaSimon accused:

"@MTNza also with 100GB worth R200, because it is only applicable to certain people"

@uMzala_SA praised:

"Good!"

Jane Jane claimed:

"I was so shocked to see that advert."

Carmen Cloete celebrated:

"Thanks for calling them out on this."

Cic Malhotrah Return joked:

"MTN, Capitec, ANC and Eskom are always play mind games."

Vodacom argues CEO had right to determine how much Nkosana Makate deserved for ‘please call me’ invention

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the protracted 'Please Call Me' case between the feature's inventor, Nkosana Makate, and telecommunications giant Vodacom headed to the Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday, 9 May.

Vodacom told the Bloemfontein-based court that the telecommunications company's CEO, Shameel Joosub, had the right to solely determine how much Makate deserved for inventing the 'Please Call Me' feature, SABC News reported.

This came after the parties were at loggerheads over how much the inventor should be compensated.

Source: Briefly News