NARB Recommends T-Mobile Discontinue or Modify Commercial to Better Disclose Conditions of Free iPhone Offer, 20% Savings Claim
New York, NY – December 30, 2024 – A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs, recommended that T-Mobile US, Inc. discontinue or modify its commercial to better disclose the material conditions of its free iPhone 16 Pro offer and its 20% rate plan savings claim compared to AT&T and Verizon.
At issue is T-Mobile's “Top Three Plays of the Day” commercial, challenged by competitor AT&T Services, Inc. to BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD). The ad features influencer Kai Cenat, NFL star Patrick Mahomes, and rapper Snoop Dogg. The commercial claims customers can obtain a free iPhone and save 20% on monthly rate plans compared to major wireless providers, a message that appears on-screen and is reiterated when Snoop Dogg says, “Families can save 20% vs. the other big guys.”
Following NAD's decision (Case No.7380), T-Mobile appealed NAD’s recommendation to discontinue or modify the challenged advertising.
The NARB panel concluded that NAD’s analysis and recommendations are supported and should be upheld, including that T-Mobile’s claims (free iPhone 16 Pro and 20% monthly savings versus “the other big guys”) are linked together in the message conveying consumers can both obtain a free iPhone from T-Mobile and save 20% on monthly fees, and that the material limitations on T-Mobile’s offers are not clear and conspicuous in the commercial and are unlikely to be communicated to reasonable viewers.
For these reasons, the NARB panel recommended that T-Mobile discontinue or modify the challenged commercial to better disclose the material conditions of T-Mobile’s offer of a free iPhone 16 Pro and its offer of saving 20% versus AT&T and Verizon.
In its advertiser statement, T-Mobile stated they will "comply with the panel’s recommendation to modify its disclosures in the challenged commercial," although they disagreed with the panel’s decision regarding the two offers.
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.
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