Bruce Willis Commercial Gets Banned in Britain

Actor's ad for BSkyB broadband service will no longer air on TVs because of providing misleading information

By Bruna Nessif Aug 15, 2013 1:34 AMTags
Bruce WillisPascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Bruce Willis hasn't had the best of luck lately.

After getting attacked on Twitter by his Expendables costar Sylvester Stallone, the Die Hard actor's commercial was banned from the airwaves in Britain for using misleading pricing information.

According to reports, the spot for BSkyB's broadband service took aim at competitor and telecom giant BT, and featured small print to explain pricing details, which appeared for 15 seconds during the ad.

The commercial features Willis entering an office to complain about the slowness of his broadband service. A person then responds, "You could try Sky Broadband. It's totally unlimited…Sky Broadband Unlimited is $11.60 (£7.50) a month, which is less than half BT's standard price."

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority said that BSkyB should have used a voiceover to explain all the pricing terms instead of just having on-screen text details.

"We concluded that the ad did not make sufficiently clear the extent of the commitment consumers had to make in order to obtain the broadband service at the advertised price," the organization said.