Telecommunications

A television advertisement for eir showed scenes from different rugby matches:
“Epic awaits. With every try, kick and tackle from the European Champions Cup, Challenge Cup and now all 152 matches from the Pro 14, eir Sport is the new home of rugby in Ireland. Don’t miss a breath. Catch all the action free with eir broadband.
eir, lets make possible.”

Text on the eir Website stated:
“The Home of Rugby in Ireland
Watch every Guinness PRO14 Game
European Champions Rugby
Gallagher Premiership Rugby
Exclusive World Cup Rugby”

Outdoor advertising:
“The Home of Rugby in Ireland
Watch every Guinness PRO14 Game
FREE with eir Broadband”

Vodafone objected to the advertisement on the grounds that they were the official sponsors of the Irish Rugby team. They considered that the claim “Home of Rugby in Ireland” in the advertising was misleading and deceptive and they considered that eir were running their campaign in contravention of the Code, particularly as they had not qualified what they meant by the words “Home of Rugby in Ireland”. They considered that eir were taking unfair advantage of Vodafone’s sponsorship agreement with the IRFU.

Vodafone also referred to the fact that the campaign had stated that eir Sport were broadcasting the Guinness Pro 14 matches, when they were also available on Vodafone’s and others’ TV platforms.

The advertisers stated that Vodafone were sponsors of the Irish Rugby team and had their logo on the Irish shirt and as far as they were aware, their campaign centred around the slogan “The team of us”. They said that as a rights owner in Ireland for the PRO 14, the Rugby European Cup and the Challenge Cup, as well as some Irish internationals, it was clear that eir and eir Sport were the home of rugby in Ireland for fans wanting to watch their favourite sport. They said that they were in no way conflicting with Vodafone’s sponsorship of the Irish Rugby team and were not in conflict with their “Team of us” marketing campaign.

They said that they had no complaints to date from consumers saying that they were trying to mislead them as they seemed to have understood that eir were the home of rugby in Ireland based on the subscriptions to their platform either through eir Sport or through eir broadband. They also said that their marketing campaign was extremely accurate and of great help to consumers who have been keen to understand where they can watch their favourite sport. Finally, they referred to commentary on their social media pages around their broadcasts which showed that Irish consumers were delighted they had been championing their sport and making it easy for them to view all forms of rugby, which they considered had, in many ways, endorsed their position of the home of rugby in Ireland.

Complaint Not Upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response, including the fact that the complainants were sponsors of the Irish Rugby team. The Committee considered that the basis for the claim “Home of Rugby in Ireland” had been set out by the inclusion of the reference to eir Sport broadcasting the various championship matches. The Committee did not consider that the claim was misleading nor did they consider that it was infringing on the complainant’s sponsorship.

In regards to the complainant’s claim to also broadcast one of the tournaments on their own TV platform, the Committee noted that the complainant’s platform offered the advertiser’s sport channel, therefore, the broadcast of the tournament was on the eir Sport channel.

In the circumstances the Committee did not consider that the advertising was in breach of the Code.


ACTION REQUIRED:
No further action required.