The National Advertising Division (NAD) has weighed in on AT&T’s highly promoted “AT&T Guarantee”, and the verdict is a mixed bag: some claims hold up, but others will need to be scaled back or dropped. The review came after a challenge from rival Charter Communications, and it highlights just how closely competitive claims in telecom advertising are scrutinized.
The Good News for AT&T
NAD determined that AT&T had adequately substantiated its “make it right” promise in the “Knowing You Exist” commercials. These ads featured everyday vignettes of life’s uncertainties before pivoting to AT&T’s guarantee, pledging dependable connectivity, competitive deals, and quality service—or compensation in the event of outages.
Because AT&T’s policy provides automatic bill credits for qualifying outages, NAD agreed the ads reasonably conveyed what the guarantee covers, without misleading consumers into thinking every glitch would be compensated.
Where It Went Wrong
The bigger problem lay in AT&T’s March Madness campaign and website messaging. In those ads, claims like “NETWORK INTERRUPTIONS FIXED FAST” and promises of a “FULL DAY OF CREDIT” suggested to consumers that all outages, no matter how brief, would be covered.
That’s not the case. AT&T’s actual policy only kicks in after an outage of 20 or 60 minutes affecting at least 10 towers. The NAD found that the fine-print disclosures in tiny font—buried in busy visuals for about five seconds—weren’t “clear and conspicuous.”
NAD recommended AT&T revise the ads to avoid overstating the speed or scope of outage fixes and make the guarantee’s limitations unmistakably clear.
Website Claims and the “First and Only” Problem
AT&T also ran into trouble online. While most references to the guarantee on its website were paired with disclosures, the headline claim lacked any clarification, leading NAD to rule the disclosures insufficient.
The body’s harshest rebuke came for AT&T’s “first and only carrier” claim, implying it was the sole provider offering such guarantees on wireless and fiber networks. With no evidence to back it up, NAD recommended AT&T discontinue the claim entirely.
AT&T’s Response
While maintaining that its ads were already compliant, AT&T said it would “respectfully disagree” but comply with NAD’s decision.
For Charter, the challenge represents a win in the ongoing carrier ad wars, where each network jockeys for credibility around performance, reliability, and innovation. For advertisers, the ruling serves as a cautionary tale: a guarantee isn’t a guarantee unless the details are spelled out plainly.
