BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) has found that Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC provided a reasonable basis for its claim in an Xfinity ad that says internet service is fast, reliable, and “powerful.”
The challenge, which was brought by AT&T, focused on two commercials featuring celebrities: NFL player Christian McCaffrey and the WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
The crux of the decision was that the Xfinity ads “do not reasonably convey the comparative superiority message alleged by AT&T, that Xfinity Internet is faster, more reliable, and more ‘powerful’ than its competitors,” according to BBB National Programs.
According to the decision, “While Comcast argued that the commercials’ references to Xfinity Internet being ‘powerful’ is puffery, NAD determined that one reasonable takeaway in this context is that ‘powerful’ is synonymous with ‘fast’ or ‘reliable.’”
A key to NAD’s determination was that there is no performance comparison in the Xfinity ads. Instead, the claim is that “not all internet providers are the same.” In that context, the claim that was made simply extols the virtues of its product and suggests that the claimed attributes may vary according to provider.
In its advertiser statement, Comcast said that it “appreciates NAD’s determination that the commercials are humorous ads that highlight truthful claims about Xfinity Internet service that do not convey a superiority message against all competing services.”
As with these Xfinith ads, AT&T also failed in an earlier challenge it brought against Cox Communications Inc. On April 1, NAD found that the challenge — which was brought against a 30-second television commercial and on the Cox Mobile Website — was unsuccessful.
NAD found that Cox Mobile — a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses Verizon’s network — provided a reasonable basis for three claims: “Cox Mobile runs on the network with unbeatable 5G reliability;” “We run on the network with unbeatable 5G reliability;” and “Cox Mobile runs on the network with unbeatable 5G reliability as measured by Ookla, LLC in the U.S.”
