Verizon 5G advertising rulings

Verizon 5G advertising rulings were a series of decisions by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs that found Verizon's television commercials overstated the availability and capability of a 5G network most of its customers could not yet use. AT&T Services, Inc. brought each challenge as a competing carrier.^[1][2] In December 2019, NAD permitted the First to 5G claim only on condition that Verizon disclose its 5G service was more unavailable than available.^[2] In May 2020, NAD recommended Verizon discontinue the claim that it was delivering the most powerful 5G experience for America,^[1] and in September 2020 a National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel agreed the claim should be discontinued.^[3]

Verizon launched its mobile 5G service on April 3, 2019, in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis, the first mobile 5G deployment a U.S. carrier offered to consumers.^[2] The 2019 First to 5G commercials predated that launch: when AT&T first challenged them, Verizon had not yet turned on a mobile 5G network for consumers to use.^[2]

The disputes ran through BBB National Programs, the advertising self-regulatory body, not a local Better Business Bureau handling individual consumer complaints. Its NAD reviews national advertising on competitor challenges, & a party that disagrees with an NAD recommendation may appeal to the NARB.^[1] The rulings were recommendations from that self-regulatory body, not government orders.

AT&T challenged Verizon's First to 5G television commercials before NAD. The case turned on whether the ads told consumers a mobile 5G network was already running when, at the time of the first challenge, it was not.^[2]

NAD issued an opinion in March 2019, before Verizon's mobile 5G network was available, recommending Verizon stop claiming to be the first carrier to offer 5G service.^[2] Verizon initially said it would appeal, then instead asked NAD to reopen the case; after the April 3, 2019 Chicago & Minneapolis launch, it submitted proof that it had rolled out 5G service.^[2]

In a revised opinion issued the week of December 13, 2019, NAD accepted that Verizon's localized launch could support a first claim. NAD wrote that a small launch can support a 'first' claim, adding that in parts of the downtown areas of certain cities, Verizon customers could get the blazing fast speeds that are the focus of 5G publicity.^[2]

NAD paired that with a disclosure requirement, recommending that Verizon add a disclaimer stating its 5G service was more unavailable than available.^[2] NAD also recommended Verizon revise a spot titled Beyond Speed: Real Time, which showed students playing console-quality video games on mobile devices, finding the record did not support a claim that a passenger on a school bus would hold a 5G connection long enough to finish such a game. NAD wrote:

The evidence suggests that Verizon's 5G service drops out suddenly... and there was no evidence that a passenger on a school bus would retain a 5G connection for a sufficient amount of time to complete a 'console-quality multiplayer game on the go,'

^[2]

AT&T challenged two later Verizon commercials, NFL: 5G Built Right & 5G Built Right: Madison Square Garden, which advertised that Verizon is building the most powerful 5G experience for America.^[1][3] Verizon's mmWave 5G at the time reached only parts of select cities & parts of the stadiums shown.^[1]

In a decision announced May 14, 2020, NAD found that the word building did not stop the ads from conveying a present-tense message. NAD wrote:

NAD determined that in the context of the challenged advertising, at least one message reasonably conveyed to consumers by the express claim that "Verizon is building the most powerful 5G experience for America" is the present tense message that Verizon is delivering "the most powerful 5G network for America."

^[1]

NAD concluded Verizon's evidence was insufficient to support that present-tense superiority claim & recommended the claim be dropped:

After reviewing Verizon's evidence, NAD concluded that it was insufficient to support Verizon's present tense "most powerful network" claim. Therefore, NAD recommended that Verizon discontinue the claim that it is delivering "the most powerful 5G experience for America."

^[1]

NAD separately found the on-screen disclosures inadequate. It recommended Verizon make the disclosures about 5G coverage clear & conspicuous, noting they appeared in small white text on a rapidly changing background, & that the ads should disclose Verizon's 5G service was available only in parts of select cities.^[1]

Verizon agreed to comply with the disclosure recommendations but appealed the core finding to the NARB. In its advertiser's statement, Verizon said the intent of the commercials was to inform consumers about the billions of dollars it was investing in its 5G build-out, & that consumers understood that to be the only message reasonably conveyed.^[1]

On September 2, 2020, a NARB panel announced its decision. The panel agreed with Verizon that the commercials did not convey a present-tense message of general availability:

The NARB panel concluded that the two commercials did not communicate a "present tense" network message to reasonable consumers, i.e. that the commercials do not communicate that a Verizon 5G network is generally available in the United States but, rather, that Verizon is committed to building a first-rate 5G network.

^[3]

The panel still recommended the claim be discontinued, on the ground that the record did not establish what consumers understood powerful to mean. It wrote:

The panel therefore concluded that absent this evidence of consumer understanding of the term "powerful," Verizon did not have proper support for the claim "Verizon is building the most powerful 5G experience for America" and recommended that it be discontinued.

^[3]

The panel noted a non-comparative version of the claim would have been supported by the record.^[3] Verizon said it disagreed that the most powerful claim was unsubstantiated but agreed to comply, noting it was pleased the NARB had overturned NAD's finding that certain claims were implied.^[3]

The two Verizon rulings landed while AT&T, the challenger in both cases, was defending its own 5G marketing. AT&T faced challenges over ads using the phrase 5G Evolution, a point MediaPost noted in its coverage of the December 2019 Verizon decision.^[2] The disputes were a self-regulatory check on carrier claims rather than action by the Federal Communications Commission, which did not rule on the semantics of the advertising.