Watchdog bans Virgin Media’s ‘fastest wi-fi’ advertisement

An advertisement by Virgin Media has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleading customers about the speed of its wi-fi. The ad claimed that Virgin had the “fastest wi-fi guarantee of any major provider,” but the ASA ruled that most customers would understand this to mean that Virgin’s wi-fi was faster than its competitors, which was not the case. Virgin argued that the ad was meant to convey that it guaranteed a minimum download speed of 30Mbps on wi-fi, which was faster than what other providers offered. However, the ASA disagreed and upheld the complaint from competitor Vodafone. As a result, Virgin Media cannot run the ad again and must ensure that it does not imply that it offers the fastest wi-fi service of all major broadband providers. Virgin expressed surprise and disappointment at the ruling, stating that no consumers had complained about the ad and independent polling showed that most people understood its claim correctly.