The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Zzoomm broadband mail campaign after ruling that it misled residents into thinking they were receiving an official notice about broadband disruption in their area.
The full fibre broadband provider sent out brown, windowed envelopes marked with the words “Important notice. Disruption in your area”, suggesting an urgent service update or works notification.
However, inside, the letter revealed a very different message:
“Not the disruption you were expecting… but it’s the best kind. Homes across your area are switching to faster, more reliable Full Fibre broadband from Zzoomm.”
Five recipients complained to the ASA, arguing that the envelope wasn’t clearly labelled as marketing and appeared to be an official communication.
The ASA agreed, finding that the advert breached multiple rules under the CAP Code, which requires all marketing communications to be “obviously identifiable as such” and not likely to mislead consumers.
According to the ruling, the design of the envelope — including its brown colour, window panel and “Important notice” wording — created “a sense of authority” and gave the impression that the letter contained a formal update about local broadband services.
While Zzoomm’s logo was present on the envelope, the ASA said branding alone was “not sufficient to make clear the commercial nature of the communication” when presented alongside language suggesting an important service notice.
Once opened, the letter made clear it was promoting Zzoomm’s full fibre service – but the ASA found that this came too late for the mailing to be considered transparent advertising.
In response, Zzoomm apologised and pointed out that the campaign had been created by a former marketing team before its merger with FullFibre Limited earlier in 2025. The company said the new team “would not have approved or circulated the campaign” and has since withdrawn the mailer.
The ASA concluded that the advert was misleading and breached rules 2.1, 2.3 and 3.1 of the CAP Code, covering recognition of marketing communications and misleading advertising.
The regulator instructed Zzoomm to ensure that all future campaigns are “obviously identifiable as marketing communications” and not presented in a way that implies official status or disruption to local broadband services.
The ruling serves as a warning to broadband providers about the fine line between creative marketing and misleading presentation. Direct mail that mimics government, council or service correspondence is likely to attract regulatory attention – and could damage consumer trust in the wider industry.
Zzoomm has since confirmed that it has fully complied with the ASA’s decision and removed the ad in its original form.
