Media understands SmarTone-Vodafone’s agency, Zenith Optimedia, is in talks with Now TV to allow the spots to air.
The ad ban follows a similar decision by Now TV last year, when it banned CSL’s 1010 campaign, a decision that prompted an investigation by the Hong Kong 4As. SmartTone-Vodafone’s new mobile internet service allows consumers to access video, podcasts, radio and other rich media formats from their handsets.
“We are the first operator to bring the true internet experience on mobile,” said Douglas Li, CEO of SmarTone-Vodafone Hong Kong. “Customers will no longer suffer from a trimmed-down, delayed, jumbled-up editions of the internet.”