Vodafone advertised in TV spots with the following slogan ' for all Vodafone customer there is the All-Flat with a minimum contribution of 19, 90€...' The central office for the prevention of unfair competition stated that the TV spots were particularly anti-competitive because the new offering was aimed only at existing clients. At the request of the central office for the prevention of unfair competition the Regional Court Düsseldorf prohibited Vodafone from using the slogan.
The Regional Court decided that the advertising was particularly ant-competitive especially as for two aspects. For the one it is not clear for the consumer that the offering was aimed only at existing clients. An average consumer, seeing the advertising in TV, is likely to understand that Vodafone with this special offer tried to gain new clients. For the other Vodafone also misleader existing clients, because the real costs of the offer are higher than 19, 90€. In effect it is an additional tariff that you can only choose if you accept also a basic tariff. As Vodafone did not sufficiently explain the differences, the advertising is to be considered misleading.