Mobile phone retailer and network provider Vodafone has been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over claims ads misled viewers.

The TV ad was seen on 9 December 2024 and depicted various Christmas scenes which were set in the past, with the characters using mobile phone technology from each era.

The ad ended with on-screen text that stated, “Connecting you at Christmas for 40 years”, whilst smaller text at the bottom of the screen stated: “The Nation’s Network: Vodafone UK, supporting the nation since 1984”. A narrator then repeated the message.

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The claim of being “The Nation’s Network” also appeared as an ad on Vodafone’s website.

Rival company EE believed the slogan (made in the TV ad and online) implied a “comparative superiority claim” and challenged whether the ads were misleading.

Vodafone said their claim “The Nation’s Network” was in reference to its heritage as the UK’s first and most long-standing mobile telephone network. They said the ad “referenced that Vodafone had been providing services for 40 years, and both ads contained references to 1984, the year when Vodafone was founded”.

The company also said neither ad made a comparative claim nor identified a competitor.

In its report, the ASA acknowledged Vodafone intended the claim to related to its “heritage and current operations as a UK brand”, which included providing network services to the UK, such as for the emergency services and at well-known UK events, and “not as a comparative superiority claim”.

“We considered it was unlikely that consumers would have interpreted the claim presented within that context to be an objective comparative claim against Vodafone’s competitors. We therefore concluded that in [the TV] ad, where sufficient contextual information was given for the basis of the claim, “The Nation’s Network” was not misleading.”

However, for the online ad, the ASA concluded “there was not a clear contextual basis for the claim and it “must not appear again in the form complained about”.

“We told Vodafone Ltd to ensure they objectively compared one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative features if making an implied comparative claim,” the report stated.