Unveiling the Truth Behind AT&T’s Advertised but Absent Service Plan

The BBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD) and National Advertising Review Board (NARB) have asked AT&T to stop running an advertisement for a non-existent satellite calling service. AT&T has chosen to continue airing the ad with a short “satellite calling is not currently available” disclaimer.

AT&T’s satellite-calling ad began airing in April 2024. It quickly drew criticisms from T-Mobile , which accused AT&T of misleading potential customers at the detriment of rival carriers that, like AT&T, are in the early stages of satellite-to-cellular deployment.

In the ad, actor Ben Stiller repeatedly fails to putt a stray golf ball back on the green, steadily knocking it into increasingly remote locations. Stiller eventually finds himself in the middle of nowhere, pulls out his smartphone, and makes a call. The words “Making satellite connection” appear on the screen of his phone—suddenly, magically, a blue beam of light erupts from the earth and bounces off of an AST SpaceMobile satellite relay. The call is established.

Satellite-to-cellular service does exist (in limited form) through companies like SpaceX and Apple. Consumers who are aware of this fact may, based on AT&T’s ad, assume that AT&T is an active competitor in this space. While AT&T is certainly in the process of building a space-based broadband network for cellular customers (and involved in landmark satellite-to-cellular tests ), AT&T’s orbital network won’t be deployed until the latter part of the decade.

“The NARB panel concluded that one reasonable message conveyed by AT&T’s “Epic Bad Golf Day” commercial … is that SCS technology is currently available to customers of AT&T’s mobile service. Therefore, the NARB panel recommended that AT&T discontinue the claim that SCS service is presently available to consumers.”

So, this is a plainly duplicitous marketing campaign. Yes, AT&T’s ad features a short disclaimer: “demonstration of evolving technology.” But the disclaimer is incredibly vague, and it’s shown alongside a computer-generated image of a satellite intercepting a goofy blue beam of light. Viewers could reasonably assume that the disclaimer refers to AT&T’s illustrative “demonstration” of how satellite communication works, rather than the realities of AT&T’s present satellite calling capabilities.

AT&T made an appeal to the NARB, arguing that the advertisement is too silly to be taken seriously. It even suggested that a ruling against the ad could prevent the use of humor in future marketing campaigns. Unsurprisingly, NARB shot back that “the humorous/fanciful nature of Mr. Stiller’s antics” does not excuse AT&T from its responsibilities in advertising.

And, notably, this isn’t the first time that AT&T has misled customers. The carrier famously rebranded its 4G LTE to “5G E” in an attempt to get ahead of competitors at the cusp of 5G adoption.

Following the NARB’s suggestion, AT&T’s ad disclaimer now states that “satellite calling is not currently available.” The retooled ad is obviously an improvement. Still, its overall effect is relatively unchanged. The decision to continue airing this ad is sure to draw criticism from frustrated consumers and competitors.

Source: NARB via Techdirt