Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
A TV ad promoted the HP Stream 11 and depicted two women discussing the features of the product. The first woman asked "Where's your stuff?", to which her friend replied "Right here babe, on my HP Stream". As they viewed some photos the first woman then asked "Are all your snaps on there?", while gesturing to the product. The second woman said "Yeah, it's got loads of Cloud storage ..." as she tapped the device. On-screen text which appeared during the ad stated "Includes one year subscription to Office 355 Personal" and then "Apps from Windows Store. Sequences shortened. Internet connection required".
Issue
1. Four complainants, who understood that Cloud storage meant most users' files would not be stored on the device and could only be accessed when online, challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that all a user's files were stored on the device.
2. One of the complainants, who understood that the device only came with free access to the Cloud for one year and then users had to pay a subscription fee for access, challenged whether the ad was misleading by omission.
Response
1. Microsoft Ltd said the "stuff" referred to by the first woman was "Right [there] … on [the] HP Stream". They said that was an accurate statement which was qualified further as the conversation progressed. All the "stuff" they were discussing was either available on the device which had access to 15 GB of free Cloud storage, via Microsoft OneDrive and was accessible with an internet connection (a fact that was mentioned in the disclaimer), or it could be available and stored on the hard drive of the device itself. They said the device came with 32 GB of storage, which could store approximately 6000 images taken at 10 mega pixels, and was around two times the inbuilt hard drive storage offered by some competitor devices. The claim that the storage was on the device itself was further qualified when the second woman said "it's got loads of Cloud storage" while tapping the device. That claim could also be fully substantiated as the device had access to 15 GB of free Cloud storage, via OneDrive, which allowed a user to store approximately 3000 songs or 5000 photos. In addition, there was an offer with the HP Stream which provided a one-year subscription to the Microsoft Cloud version of Office, called Office 365 Personal. Office 365 Personal had an additional one terabyte of free Cloud storage through OneDrive during the one-year subscription period, which was enough to store approximately 310,000 photos or 17,000 hours of music. They thought it was clear from the women's interaction that at least some of the device owner's files were stored on the Cloud.
They also highlighted that as the women discussed the Cloud, there was a disclaimer on-screen that stated "Internet connection required". They said the disclaimer had long been accepted as sufficient to indicate when showing an app or feature of a device that either required, or worked better with, an internet connection.
To clarify further that the photos were available through the Cloud, when they were being discussed and some photos were shown on the device during the ad, they were shown on OneDrive, the Microsoft Cloud storage drive. Therefore, they believed viewers would understand that they needed an internet connection to retrieve files stored on the OneDrive.
Microsoft also highlighted that the URL www.microsoft.com/stream was displayed at the end of the ad, and if a consumer visited the site there was more information about the device, including the amount of storage the device had itself, the ability to work on or offline, and additional information about OneDrive storage.
They acknowledged that the Cloud was a challenging concept to some consumers, but believed that the average consumer to whom the ad was targeted would understand the overall message.
Clearcast stated that the device had an inbuilt storage facility of 32 GB, which meant that files, photos and so forth could be stored on the featured device. However, the product also had Cloud access, with up to a terabyte of storage via OneDrive, Microsoft's Cloud storage drive, which allowed users to easily store and share their documents via the internet. When they assessed the script, they considered that it clearly explained that the primary storage feature of the device was via the Cloud. They also felt most viewers would be familiar with the concept of the Cloud, and so it was not necessary to further clarify what the term meant within the ad itself.
During the conversation featured in the ad, the device's owner clearly explained to her friend that her 'snaps' were saved within the Cloud. Therefore, they felt that it was clear to viewers that the main storage facility was via the Cloud, and viewers were unlikely to believe that all of their documents would be physically stored within the device itself. The legal super also made it clear that, in order to access the Cloud, an internet connection was required. In light of that, Clearcast believed the nature of the services offered by the product were clear and viewers were unlikely to be misled.
2. Microsoft said the complainant was mistaken as there was no subscription fee after one year to access the Cloud. They said the Cloud could be accessed for free with an internet connection at any time without limitation. They re-iterated that the device came with a 32 GB hard drive and access to an additional 15 GB of free Cloud storage through OneDrive, and highlighted that the owner of the device was therefore able to store "loads" of "stuff" in the Cloud.
They explained that the only reference in the ad to a "subscription" or limit of "one year" related to an additional offer which came with the product. That offer was for a one-year subscription to the Microsoft Cloud version of Office, called Office 365 Personal. Office 365 Personal came with an additional one terabyte of free Cloud storage through OneDrive during the one-year subscription period. They highlighted that the on-screen text "Includes one year subscription of Office 365 Personal" clearly explained the offer. They also said the URL referenced in the ad, included further detail regarding the subscription and associated access to additional Cloud storage.
Clearcast said when discussing the script with the agency, they were advised that users of the device could have access to the Cloud for free, without subscription and without limitations, provided they had access to the internet. The ad stated that the device came with a year's subscription to Office 365 Personal, which also included an extra terabyte of Cloud storage across up to five devices. However, that was an additional offer and viewers were not required to pay further subscription charges after one year in order to continue using the Cloud as featured in the ad.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted that when responding to the question "Where's all your stuff?" the device owner stated "Right here babe, on my HP Stream". Further, when her friend went on to query "Are all your snaps on there?", she answered "Yes …", before stating "… it's got loads of Cloud storage". We considered that the initial impression created by the ad was that all the owner's "stuff" was all stored on the device. However, we considered that most viewers were likely to understand the concept of the Cloud and the fact that Cloud storage could only be accessed with an internet connection. Therefore, once the owner stated "it's got loads of Cloud storage", we considered viewers would be aware that, while some files could be stored on the device's hard drive, files could also be stored remotely in the Cloud storage available through OneDrive. Because we considered most viewers would be familiar with the Cloud and the concept of remote storage, and would understand that the device offered storage both on its hard drive and on the Cloud, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.
On that point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.2
3.2
Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that consumers need in context to make informed decisions about whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead consumers depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the advertisement is constrained by time or space, the measures that the advertiser takes to make that information available to consumers by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.9
3.9
Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that the audience is likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.
(Substantiation),
3.10
3.10
Advertisements must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification) and
3.12
3.12
Advertisements must not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service.
(Exaggeration), but did not find it in breach.
2. Not upheld
We understood that the product had 32 GB of storage on the device and had free access to 15 GB of Cloud storage, via Microsoft OneDrive, which was accessible with an internet connection. As a separate offer, the product also came with a free subscription to Office 365 Personal for one year, which gave users an additional one terabyte of Cloud storage through OneDrive. We understood that after a year, a user would lose that additional terabyte of storage unless they decided to maintain their subscription and pay a fee. While we noted that the ad included on-screen text stating "Includes one year subscription of Office 365 Personal", we considered that most viewers, particularly those unfamiliar with Microsoft's products and services, would not understand that reference, or that the subscription included additional Cloud storage. Instead, we considered most viewers watching the ad would simply understand that the product came with access to free Cloud storage. Because the device came with access to 15 GB of free Cloud storage, we concluded that the ad was not misleading.
On that point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.2
3.2
Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that consumers need in context to make informed decisions about whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead consumers depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the advertisement is constrained by time or space, the measures that the advertiser takes to make that information available to consumers by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.9
3.9
Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that the audience is likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.
(Substantiation),
3.10
3.10
Advertisements must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.
(Qualification) and
3.12
3.12
Advertisements must not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service.
(Exaggeration), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
