Vodafone advert banned for speaking too fast

A dancer performs during a promotional event for mobile telephone company Vodafone in Istanbul March 31, 2007.

LONDON (Reuters) - A Vodafone radio commercial broke advertising rules because the terms and conditions were read out too quickly at the end, a watchdog said on Wednesday.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the mobile phone advert must not be broadcast again because it could mislead listeners.

The commercial for a package of unlimited calls, text messages and mobile Internet ended with a woman's voice delivering a 30-word disclaimer in less than eight seconds.

ASA upheld a complaint from a listener who said it was so fast that it was hard to hear the message, which started with the familiar words: "Subject to status ..."

Its ruling said: "We concluded that, because they were delivered too quickly, the important terms and conditions were not clearly audible and the ad could mislead listeners."

Vodafone said it did not speed up the voice in post-production and it was no faster than those in similar adverts for financial services.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; editing by Steve Addison)