Mobile phone operator Orange was today criticised by advertising watchdogs for running a misleading advertising campaign.

The company was rapped after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints from 28 people over a TV, press, poster and online campaign that promised to give "all our existing customers great deals like we give our new customers".

The complainants protested that the ads were disingenuous because Orange did not make clear that existing subscribers had to fulfil pre-conditions to take advantage of the offer.

Orange told the ASA that existing customers had to be in the last three months of their contract and sign for at least a further 12 months or 18 months with a handset upgrade.

The ASA upheld the complaints, saying the adverts in their original form were misleading as they implied that all customers, irrespective of how long they had held contracts, were entitled to take up the offer, which promised double minutes and double texts for six months.

In its defence, Orange said it had amended its adverts to refer to some of the conditions required by existing users, including an onscreen reference to the fact that existing customers "must be in the tenth month or more of contract to be eligible".

But the ASA said the changes "did not go far enough," and ruled that the adverts "did not make the conditions clear and were misleading".

The television ad showed a board meeting where a wise old Chinese man is asked how the company can take better care of its existing customers.

In a translated response, the man advises the company to give "all our existing customers great deals like we give our new customers".

The ASA ordered Orange to make further changes "to make clear the conditional nature of the offers to existing customers".

An Orange spokesman said the company had responded to the complaints.

"We have worked with the ASA to ensure that each issue raised has been addressed and that all future communications reflect any necessary changes."

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