Ad Alert

Comcast agrees to pull ‘disparaging’ phrase in AT&T parody

TV commercial gets edit following decision from the National Advertising Division.

Ad Alert

Comcast agrees to pull ‘disparaging’ phrase in AT&T parody

Comcast has agreed to pull a phrase from one of its TV commercials after it was found to be “falsely disparaging” of a competitor’s product.

The commercial features a fictional AT&T sales rep who clumsily attempts to cajole a Comcast family into switching service with a demonstration of AT&T’s U-verse wireless receiver.

According to a release from The National Advertising Division (NAD) is the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.:

During the course of the spot, the technician rips the family’s large, wall-mounted television out of the wall and demolishes a large aquarium, bookshelf, and lamp. The commercial concludes with a voiceover that states: ‘Don’t get U-ped [rhymes with ‘duped’] by U-verse. Get the most entertainment on any device anywhere with Xfinity from Comcast.’

AT&T brought the complaint to NAD, which determined that the phrase “Don’t get U-ped by U-verse” was “falsely disparaging” of the wireless receiver and should be pulled from the commercial, the release said.

AT&T also challenged the second phrase (“Get the most entertainment…”), but NAD found that phrase to communicate “an accurate message regarding the breadth of the advertiser’s library of content.”

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Our Ad Alerts are not just about false and deceptive marketing issues, but may also be about ads that, although not necessarily deceptive, should be viewed with caution. Ad Alerts can also be about single issues and may not include a comprehensive list of all marketing issues relating to the brand discussed.


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