Cell C has lost another battle at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The cellular operator lodged a counterclaim against Vodacom and its parent, the UK’s Vodafone, after it lost an earlier battle at the ASA when it was told it couldn’t use the phrase “power to you” in its advertising campaigns.

In the earlier case, the ASA found that Vodafone had been using it in its campaigns worldwide since as early as 2009, and since it was the majority shareholder in Vodacom, it was likely it wanted to use the branding in SA as well.

Vodafone has applied to have “power to you” registered as a trademark in SA. Vodacom also claimed that the slogan was used in advertising at OR Tambo International airport during the 2010 soccer World Cup.

Vodacom unveiled its new branding last week, changing from blue to red and using Vodafone’s font in its new logo.

Cell C’s counterclaim argued that the use of the theme of “power” is in breach of advertising goodwill, given that Cell C’s campaign relied heavily on the theme for its new look, feel and slogan. Its submission to the authority said the slogan “power to you” used internationally by Vodafone was “confusingly similar” to Cell C’s own “the power is in your hands” payoff line.

Cell C has spent a small fortune on the rebranding exercise and is fighting tooth and nail to protect the investment. According to the ASA ruling, Cell C spent R208m on its advertising (after discounts) in radio, cinema, outdoor, Internet, print and television between August and February.

“The entire concept of [Cell C’s] new campaign centred on power — the power of the cellphone and the power of the consumer. The complainant submitted that its intention was to build goodwill in the entire ‘power’ theme in relation to the cellphone industry,” the ASA said.

Cell C also argued that it has been using the theme of power since August last year and only became aware of Vodacom’s intention to use it in January.

However, Vodacom’s response was that there should be no trouble for consumers to distinguish between the two slogans. “Cell C cannot claim monopoly in the concept of ‘power’ as the word is non-distinctive and generic,” says Vodacom.

The ASA dismissed Cell C’s complaint, arguing “there is nothing” in the complaint that shows that Cell C had “acquired exclusive rights to the ordinary word ‘power’ through constant use or its advertising media spend”.

The authority also said it was unlikely that consumers would associate the word “power” exclusively with operator’s services. — Staff reporter, TechCentral