The first offence was for a poster advertising NTL's cartoon channels, which featured an array of cartoon characters and the words, "Zoinks. Digital TV with all the toons. But without the dish".
Members of the public, and NTL's chief rival BSkyB, pointed out that more cartoon channels were available on other digital networks. NTL immediately backed down, admitting that the implication in its ad -- that NTL had more cartoon channels than its competitors -- was false.
NTL offended for the second time in one week with a direct mail campaign offering "half-price telephone line rental, great digital TV and free
installation for a limited period only".
The copy continues, "You may not be aware that your property has previously been connected to the NTL cable service. This means for a limited period only, we are now able to offer you a telephone service at half the price of
standard BT line rental".
A series of complaints came from customers who were either unable to get cable in their area, or whose properties had never been connected to cable
television. Existing NTL customers were also affronted by receiving mailings but being ineligible to take advantage of the offer.
Once again, NTL was forced to admit its blunders and accept a warning from the ASA, which asked the cable company to ensure that only those who are eligible to receive advertised offers are approached in future.