A TV ad for LOVEFiLM’s ‘instant’ streaming service has been banned from further repeat broadcasts by the Advertising Standards Authority for failing to explain that the entire catalogue was not available on all compatible devices.
This complaint arose from the stated proposition which said: “Lovefilm Instant. Watch unlimited movies and TV series instantly on loads of devices for less than a fiver a month. Try it now,” with a range of devices including games consoles, computers, an iPad and Kindle Fire highlighted.
LOVEFiLM had argued that they ‘did not believe that the ad was inaccurate’ or required additional qualification beyond that given as unlimited content was available on every LOVEFiLM-ready device – even if that content regularly changed.
In their ruling however the ASA observed that LOVEFiLM conceded on their own website that ‘Availability of the Instant TV catalogue currently varies by device, but we're working towards all TV series being accessible on all devices in the near future.’
In light of this the watchdog concluded that not all content was available across all devices and thus labelled the ad ‘misleading’ and thus cannot be shown again in its current form.