Why do NZ advertisers think it's ok to break the law, online?

Forums › Off topic › Why do NZ advertisers think it's ok to break the law, online?

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#983415 10-Feb-2014 16:08

Bah. I pay Hulu Plus and still have two ads at the start of a TV episode and about four or five interruptions with two ads each throughout the episode.

I am now watching most TV series on Netflix which is the same price and no ads. Still have Hulu Plus for the odd TV series not available on Netflix.

jarledb

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#983520 10-Feb-2014 18:05

Geektastic:
It would be so much nicer if you could just delete the ads live though!!

Move to Norway (or the UK) and enjoy the state broadcasters with zero ads :)

Or get yourself a time machine.. ;)

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#983522 10-Feb-2014 18:07

freitasm: Bah. I pay Hulu Plus and still have two ads at the start of a TV episode and about four or five interruptions with two ads each throughout the episode.

I am now watching most TV series on Netflix which is the same price and no ads. Still have Hulu Plus for the odd TV series not available on Netflix.

Ouch, I have not used Hulu Plus a lot I understand.

I tend to subscribe to the series I want to watch through iTunes, which is completely ads free, as is Netflix which I also use. Find Nexflix most useful for their own productions though, everything else takes forever to come to Netflix.

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#983696 10-Feb-2014 21:38

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#986925 13-Feb-2014 18:05

curious as to any further developments with suggested taking to CC and whether it has been clarified it is illegal.

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#986927 13-Feb-2014 18:08

More than this I really dislike Dark Patterns (more information on http://darkpatterns.org/): "[Dark Pattern] is a type of user interface that appears to have been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills."

I fell to this today... Stuff ads on front page, made to appear as a news item showing a CCTV capture. Thinking instantly it would be related to those recent armed robberies in Auckland, I clicked to find it was a Burger King ad.

Shame on you Stuff.

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#986928 13-Feb-2014 18:14

freitasm: More than this I really dislike Dark Patterns (more information on http://arkpatterns.org/): "[Dark Pattern] is a type of user interface that appears to have been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills."

I fell to this today... Stuff ads on front page, made to appear as a news item showing a CCTV capture. Thinking instantly it would be related to those recent armed robberies in Auckland, I clicked to find it was a Burger King ad.

Shame on you Stuff.

Dark patterns is a bit like bait advertising, where you see an advert online which looks to be a great deal, only to click on it to find the terms and conditions and full details omitted essential information and the deal is nowhere near as good as the adverting implied. Unfortunately the NZ advertising law is probably 10 years behind this sort of thing online. If you the advert in the paper, and physically went to the store as a result, then you have lost your time and transport costs. However with online ads, it only costs you the click time, and a little data.

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#986934 13-Feb-2014 18:36

jeffnz: curious as to any further developments with suggested taking to CC and whether it has been clarified it is illegal.

Not from me, deal isn't really that great to pursue for the time/effort. Anyone else if free to have a crack though.

mattwnz:
Dark patterns is a bit like bait advertising, where you see an advert online which looks to be a great deal, only to click on it to find the terms and conditions and full details omitted essential information and the deal is nowhere near as good as the adverting implied. Unfortunately the NZ advertising law is probably 10 years behind this sort of thing online. If you the advert in the paper, and physically went to the store as a result, then you have lost your time and transport costs. However with online ads, it only costs you the click time, and a little data.

Not entirely the point in my opinion. I think it's one of those "what if everyone started doing it" kind of things..

(And not everyone does - as has been pointed out Telecom has more transparent wording on the other versions of their ad).

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#986937 13-Feb-2014 18:38

kenkeniff:
jeffnz: curious as to any further developments with suggested taking to CC and whether it has been clarified it is illegal.

Not from me, deal isn't really that great to pursue for the time/effort. Anyone else if free to have a crack though.

mattwnz:
Dark patterns is a bit like bait advertising, where you see an advert online which looks to be a great deal, only to click on it to find the terms and conditions and full details omitted essential information and the deal is nowhere near as good as the adverting implied. Unfortunately the NZ advertising law is probably 10 years behind this sort of thing online. If you the advert in the paper, and physically went to the store as a result, then you have lost your time and transport costs. However with online ads, it only costs you the click time, and a little data.

Not entirely the point in my opinion. I think it's one of those "what if everyone started doing it" kind of things..

(And not everyone does - as has been pointed out Telecom has more transparent wording on the other versions of their ad).

I saw another similar ad in paper other day hence my interest coming back but, as you point out, had more details, 2 Degrees I believe.

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#986942 13-Feb-2014 18:46

kenkeniff: Not from me, deal isn't really that great to pursue for the time/effort. Anyone else if free to have a crack though.

You have the information circumstances and dates and screenshots.

It would take less time to fill in the CC webform than you have spent bleating on and on about it.

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#986943 13-Feb-2014 19:01

kenkeniff:
jeffnz: curious as to any further developments with suggested taking to CC and whether it has been clarified it is illegal.

Not from me, deal isn't really that great to pursue for the time/effort. Anyone else if free to have a crack though.

mattwnz:
Dark patterns is a bit like bait advertising, where you see an advert online which looks to be a great deal, only to click on it to find the terms and conditions and full details omitted essential information and the deal is nowhere near as good as the adverting implied. Unfortunately the NZ advertising law is probably 10 years behind this sort of thing online. If you the advert in the paper, and physically went to the store as a result, then you have lost your time and transport costs. However with online ads, it only costs you the click time, and a little data.

Not entirely the point in my opinion. I think it's one of those "what if everyone started doing it" kind of things..

(And not everyone does - as has been pointed out Telecom has more transparent wording on the other versions of their ad).

I agree, and I don't like it. But it is quite widespread, especially with google adwords. I often see adverts that don't mention GST, or they advertising some 'from' a price, but the actual service that is being advertised is a lot higher in price for the full service. I think the NZ laws needs to get a lot tougher with online adverts. But part of the probelm is that often you don't know if the advert is a NZ one or not, and overseas companies with websites using .nz domains are not bound by the same advertising laws as NZ based companies. At least I don't think they are.

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#986950 13-Feb-2014 19:24

kenkeniff:
NonprayingMantis: I saw the telecom ad the other day and it quite clearly said 'buy it on a $99 plan to get...' etc etc

Did u take screenshot?

Though I lost it but luckily still had the tab open on mobile.

I agree with you - If they can stipulate the type of tablet then they can surely say it only applies to a 24 month contract.

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#986972 13-Feb-2014 20:21

How about jbhifi? I got a pamplet in the mail saying to check online for a special jbhifi price on a 32gb ipod touch.

So, i went online, and they are selling the 32gb ipod touch for $459 -- which is just the normal price.

Isn't this dodgy advertising? They say they are offering a special deal online, but are not!!!

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#987016 13-Feb-2014 21:36

surfisup1000: How about jbhifi? I got a pamplet in the mail saying to check online for a special jbhifi price on a 32gb ipod touch.

So, i went online, and they are selling the 32gb ipod touch for $459 -- which is just the normal price.

Isn't this dodgy advertising? They say they are offering a special deal online, but are not!!!

I've come across supermarkets doing that.

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#987147 14-Feb-2014 09:33

jeffnz: curious as to any further developments with suggested taking to CC and whether it has been clarified it is illegal.

kenkeniff: Not from me, deal isn't really that great to pursue for the time/effort. Anyone else if free to have a crack though.

gzt: You have the information circumstances and dates and screenshots. It would take less time to fill in the CC webform than you have spent bleating on and on about it.

That was a bit grumpy on my part, I think I owe you a partial apology for the language. Here's a more articulate version:

kenkeniff: Why do NZ advertisers think it's ok to break the law, online

Probably because this issue and several other similar examples discussed above are not being notified to the Commerce Commission. The CC provides a very lightweight process to deal with these kinds of issues very effectively. It takes less than 5 minutes to create a report.

If it is not worth your time to do that, it is not worth my time to explain to you why this behavior is 'illegal'.

Telecom is making an offer to 'buy' which in fact does not exist at all. The only thing they are offering is an opportunity to sign a contract where they will own the device until the contract is fully paid. There is no 'buy' here at all.

Personally I'm guessing this one is just a case of some employee or gung ho marketing for some reason did not follow or was unaware of established advertising guidelines. The cause is not important, they are making an offer which does not exist.

http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission/making-a-complaint/online-complaint-form/

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