AT&T Moves Away From 'Up To' Marketing
from the finally! dept
For years, one of our pet peeves was the use of "up to" in telco marketing -- as in, "you get speeds up to 10 Mbps!" The "up to" lets providers basically make up whatever they want, as any speed below that number is still technically covered. However, in the last few years, some have started pushing back -- even questioning whether the use of "up to" marketing was false advertising. That's why it's nice to see that AT&T, for one, appears to be moving away from the practice. Broadband Reports notes that AT&T's new terms of service seems to show the range of speeds, rather than using "up to." That seems a lot more accurate and reasonable.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: marketing, truth in advertising, up to
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Up to
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Did you know ...
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Monty Python covered this over thirty years ago
LLAP-GOCH!
...the Secret Welsh ART of SELF DEFENCE that requires NO INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH or PHYSICAL courage
GO TO BED WITH *UP TO* ANY LUDICROUS NUMBER OF *GIRLS* YOU CARE TO THINK OF PROVIDING YOU REALIZE THIS STATEMENT IS QUITE MEANINGLESS AS THE PHRASE ‘UP TO’ CLEARLY INCLUDES THE NUMBER ‘NOUGHT’
A twofer - Not only that, it covers the "Bush Doctrine" also:
It is an ANCIENT Welsh ART based on a BRILLIANTLY simple I- D-E-A, which is a SECRET. The best form of DEFENCE is ATTACK (Clausewitz) and the most VITAL element of ATTACK is SURPRISE (Oscar HAMMERstein). Therefore . . . the BEST way to protect yourself AGAINST any ASSAILANT is to ATTACK him before he attacks YOU . . . Or *BETTER* . . . BEFORE the THOUGHT of doing so has EVEN OCCURRED TO HIM!!!
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Re: Monty Python covered this over thirty years ago
Nothing covers up the Bush Doctrine like lipstick!
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Too little. Too late.
Anyone who deals with this company knows what I'm talking about, and those who are thinking of bedding with them should think twice, especially given their current 3G issues propped by the new Apple iPhone.
I remember a time AT&T meant something. Now, it's useless.
You can thank the United States government for this.
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Basically, it said that in an "up to" claim, the advertiser must also state the lower end of the range, as in "from 10 to 30 percent" or "from 5 to 10 Mbps." In many cases, this "from-to" requirement made the advertisement stronger, saying that at minimum you will receive benefit x and at maximum, benefit y. What if AT&T said "you get speeds from 8 up to 10 Mpbs?" Wouldn't you want a minimum of 8 Mbps?
Mind you, BBB rules are guidelines, not laws, and advertisers are under no legal responsibility to abide by them. Most "honest" advertisers do follow the BBB guidelines, though, as they know that the adverse publicity from not following the BBB can be detrimental to their public image and, as a result, their bottom line. (The BBB published an offenders list regularly.)
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AT&T Hurtiing?
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