Optus continue to target Telstra despite court ruling
Optus has continued to target Telstra’s coverage with a new ad comparing the percentage of the Australian population Optus’ mobile network reaches to Telstra’s coverage, despite losing a court case over a similar attack ad last month.
Telstra claimed Optus’ campaign misrepresented the network coverage and the ads misled customers into believing Optus and Telstra’s mobile networks covered 98.5 per cent and 99.3 per cent of the Australian landmass respectively.
The new ad, created by M&C Saatchi, has carefully altered the wording, and removed the use of an outline of Australia, to reflect the coverage of the Australian population rather than the Australian landmass.
An Optus spokesperson told Mumbrella: “We want to be as clear as possible. We felt we were clear last time but there was question around was the voiceover clear or was it clear in terms of the graphic. We clearly state that on our website, we clearly talk to population coverage and that’s a measure we’ve been communicating for a number of months now.”
The Victorian Supreme Court ruled in Telstra’s favour last month, stating Optus had misled Australians over the strength of its mobile network in a series of TV and online ad campaigns.
Justice Elliot said that any ordinary or reasonable person would have believed it to mean geographic coverage.
“The message that Optus says it seeks to convey in relation to population coverage could have readily been conveyed without the use of a map of Australia.
“In short, I accept the submission made on behalf of Telstra that these aspects of the advertisement were part of a deliberate advertising strategy that was calculated to benefit Optus’ business.”
The old ad (courtesy of Ebiquity):
Miranda Ward
Linkedin
I can only make comment based on my experience living up on Sydney’s northern beaches. The Optus G4 coverage map states there is that coverage available from Mona Vale to the Palm Beach peninsula. This is totally incorrect. There is one G4 tower up on Bilgola Plateau, and one planned for Bushranger Hill (Bungan). Even Optus admitted that to me, and I think this makes publication of inaccurate maps ‘deceptive’. I love the Optus service and plans, but I am disappointed at the above duplicity.
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Optus coverage maps are incorrect, it’s states I have have 4G at my premises and where I work and where my parents live however, I know from my actual usage I struggle to get full bar 3G outside the premises. I do love the Optus services and their customer services however, fix the maps.
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I like Optus but not at home. We live on Bilgola Plateau NSW we struggle to get one bar a lot time and low as no bars. i have contacted Optus and all the say, that they have congestion on the transmitter and it will be fix this has been for some time.
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