In an ongoing advertising battle between Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular seems to have won the latest round-but did not emerge completely unscathed.
Sprint Nextel had challenged a slew of Cingular’s advertising claims about the largest carrier’s network and push-to-talk service, and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau has been reviewing the claims. The NAD investigates advertising challenges as part of a self-regulation program for the advertising industry.
Last week, the NAD announced its rulings on several previous complaints that Sprint Nextel had made regarding Cingular’s marketing. In general, Cingular came out on top with the NAD-but was warned to be careful about what comparisons it made between itself and other carriers and their services. According to statements from the NAD, Sprint Nextel took issue with a number of Cingular’s advertising claims, including:
- “More bars in more places.” Sprint Nextel argued that the phrase gives customers the impression that Cingular’s network provides better signal strength and reception, no matter where a consumer is calling, as long as they are on the Cingular network. The NAD concluded that Cingular had a reasonable basis for the claim.
- “Fastest national wireless data network.” The NAD decided that Cingular could reasonably call its data network the “fastest national wireless data network.”
- “Instantly talk across the largest push to talk network in America.” While the NAD said Cingular could keep the “instant” and the “largest push to talk” claims and could even put out a “qualified superiority claim,” it did warn that the nation’s largest carrier should “discontinue its unqualified claims that the challenger does not provide” availability management and group calling features.
- However, the NAD told Cingular it should change claims that it “offers the broadest and deepest portfolio of wireless business solutions” and that it “makes wireless work for more businesses than any other wireless carrier.”
“Our perspective on the ruling is that it is a resounding victory for Cingular,” said Mark Siegel, Cingular’s executive director of communications. “It affirms what we have been saying all along. … This is a big one for us.”
“We respect the NAD process, though we continue to believe that all of the arguments made in our original challenge have merit,” said Sprint Nextel spokesman Matt Sullivan.
Last month, Atlanta-based Cingular sued Sprint Nextel over the latter operator’s challenges, effectively shutting down a separate NAD investigation and demanding that a federal court in Georgia decide whether Cingular’s advertising claims were accurate. Cingular also wanted the court to stop Sprint Nextel from asserting that “no carrier has a more powerful network.” That suit is “progressing,” according to Sprint Nextel spokesman Matt Sullivan.
