Telecom rivals say hold on

Telecom Eireann's new 1pper-minute campaign has run into difficulties with its competitors, who claim the advertising is misleading.

Esat Clear and Swiftcall say that while calls cost 1p per minute off peak, the consumer has to pay a minimum charge of 12p. Telecom replies that the "advertising campaign clearly articulates our pricing structure" and indeed the 12p minimum charge is in the small print on the press ad.

It is also on screen in the campaign's seven different TV adverts. But the value of printing small text on screen and expecting the consumer to come to grips with it in a 30-second advert is highly questionable, particularly while at the same time they are being sold, in a forceful and emotive way, the 1p-per-minute main message.

The Advertising Standards Authority has had no complaints and Telecom is shrugging the accusation off as being part of the cut-and-thrust of competition.

Direct price comparisons in telephone advertising are set to become a feature of all campaigns as the market expands here.

Swiftcall began a four-week press campaign this week with a price comparison advert on calls to the UK. Mr Alan O'Brien, Swiftcall's marketing manager, says the current campaign will be followed in the autumn by a major TV and radio campaign for the company.

While Swiftcall is a niche company focusing entirely on overseas calls, he is angry with Telecom's 1p-per-minute strategy which he claims misleads consumers on the real price-per-call issue and could make them distrustful of all pricebased telephone advertising.

McConnells created the 1p-per-minute campaign which cost £350,000 (€444,400) and will run on all major media until late August.