U.K. TV Commercial Restrictions

Mobile Content Firm Jamster to Fight U.K. TV Commercial Restrictions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 21, 2005 - 8:55am.
London -- Mobile entertainment distributor Jamster, a unit of VeriSign, said on Wednesday that it plans to contest a recent ruling from the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority Council, stating that the company's ads appeal to children and should be restricted to broadcast only after 9 P.M. "In particular, the ASA fails to adequately consider the well-established fact that the overwhelming majority of Jamster's customers are above age 16 or the protective measures that Jamster has exercised as part of its advertising, including a specific '16-and-over' callout button," the company said in a statement. Jamster cited an ICM Research study that found the mean age of its customers to be 32, and that just 1.6% of its customers were under the age of 16. The company's "Crazy Frog" animated character and ringtone was the first to cross over and become the top-selling overall U.K. music single, bettering Oasis and Coldplay. It also recently partnered with MTV on mobile entertainment initiatives. "Jamster intends to pursue all legal means to overturn the ASA's unjust and unfounded decision about its past advertisements," the company said.