In December 2002, in what was believed to be the UK's first
direct marketing campaign of its kind, Twentieth Century Fox sent
recorded promotional messages to 27,000 consumers.
Automated calls went to mobile phones with a sound clip from the
film in which a breathless Tom Cruise asked, "Where is my minority
report?," followed by a voiceover urging them not to miss out on
the film.
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an
investigation following 18 complaints from mobile phone users who
received the messages. The complainants said that they found Tom
Cruise's tone of voice inappropriate and offensive, and suggested
that the ad could be mistaken for a nuisance call.
They also objected to being charged to collect the message
because, if their phones were turned off when the call was made,
they had to listen to their voicemail, a service for which mobile
operators usually charge.
The film studio, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation,
rejected the claims, pointing out that the message was sent only to
people who had disclosed their phone numbers to the company in
previous promotions and agreed to receive further information about
Fox productions.
Fox also claimed that the voiceover at the end of the message
makes it clear that the message is an advertisement.
The ASA upheld the consumer complaints. Specifically, the
watchdog found that, contrary to Fox's claims, consumers "would not
necessarily immediately recognise the voice as being Tom Cruise's",
and therefore the message "was likely to be seen as menacing and to
cause serious and widespread offence and undue fear or distress,"
in breach of its Code of Practice.
The ASA also found that the fact that the message was an advert
should have been made clearer.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the watchdog said that,
although the complainants had given their contact details to the
advertisers, not all of them realised that receiving promotional
information could incur a cost.
Fox said it had sent the message at 11am on a Monday to minimise
the risk of people having to retrieve the message because – Fox
argued – most people would have their mobile phones on at that
time. This did not satisfy the ASA.
In a statement which is of significance to any business
considering direct marketing by automated calls to mobile phones,
the ASA wrote:
"The Authority considered that not all
consumers would realise that one of the implications of giving
their contact details to the advertisers was that receiving
information from the advertisers could incur a cost. The Authority
advised the advertisers to make clear when consumers were asked to
give their contact details that a cost could be incurred to receive
the requested information."
The advertising watchdog told Fox not to use a similar approach
again, and advised the company to consult the Committee of
Advertising Practice Copy Advice before sending more adverts to
mobile phones.
The ASA adjudication and links to relevant sections of its Code
of Practice are available
here
