Apple iPhone ad banned in the U.K.
Even with its flaws, the iPhone is pretty impressive. But from the first, Apple’s TV ads for the device have made it look a little better than it is. Maps pop up without any annoying delay. Apps download almost instantly. Calls are never ever dropped.
Now a government agency has called the company on it. According to reports in the Guardian and the BBC, Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that one of Apple’s TV spots misleads consumers and ordered the company to stop airing it in the U.K.
The ad, which showed a weather forecast, stock prices, vacation spots and a map to Heathrow airport, included a voiceover that read:
“You never know which part of the Internet you’ll need … which is why all the parts of the Internet are on the iPhone.”
At least two viewers complained to the watchdog agency that because the iPhone doesn’t support Flash or Java, there are many parts of the Internet that can’t be viewed through the device’s Web browser. The ASA agreed, concluding that “the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone.”
According to the Guardian, Apple argued that none of the content in the ad was Java or Flash-based and that the line “all parts of the internet” meant Web site availability, “not every aspect of functionality.”
You can view the ad here and judge for yourself.
Ironically, as Apple’s ad was being banned in Britain, Apple (AAPL) was being attacked in the United States for banning publication of a comic book on its App Store. See Murderdrome here.
For the text of the ASA’s ruling, click here.
Until I read this article I was convinced there was absolute truth in advertising. My eyes have been opened and my innocence lost forever. Two people complained? Make that THREE!!!
“Thank you Phil for doing this important work. Thank you Phil. War in Iraq?
Posted By Don J.”
Seriously Don? Yuo’re looking for Iraq War information in the Technology section of a finacial magazine? What’s next? Phil is covering the Obama/ Mccain race closely enough?
I have to agree with ‘glen engelmann.’
Have you ever seen a commercial for a phone that has depicted the product dropping a call?
Absolutely not.
Have you ever seen a commercial for ANY product that showed a single one of its touted features as working in any other way that completely ideal?
Absolutely not.
That, of course, would be called product suicide.
This is pretty standard stuff… a company makes a product and says it’s the best thing ever, and then the customer reads reviews or tries it for themselves to find out the reality.
As far as this story itself… I mean… it’s news, but it’s old, outdated news. This should have been a brief mention, at best.
I feel I must apologize for my country, Britain. Apple gives us great technology, years ahead of anything else, and all people here can do is look for ways to find fault with it. Bunch of moaning old women! Just like the iTunes complaint, that 79p is more than the equivalent being paid in the rest of Europe in Euros. Big deal! Trouble is they’re so used to being ripped off by everyone else, they don’t realize Apple isn’t like that.
you imply in your article that there are ads exist that DON”T make a product look better than it is.
everything apple does is put under the microscope.
but, every ad for every thing makes a product look better than it is.
i hope you didn’t buy that body spray that makes it seem like women will swoon all over you.
“two viewers” complained, eh? Gee, I wonder who those “viewers” work for ?
WOW,
More great journalism from Philly at Fortune.
You stories are lame and have nothing to really sway me from one way or another.
flash and java! hello, they are the scourge of the web…
Philip, you “forgot” to add Apple’s reply…
Apple stated that though the iPhone supported open standards, Java and Flash were not open-source and required a plug-in to make them work, even using a desktop computer.
Quick fix un-tieing the typo!
ex ped: Thanks for the catch.
I agree about the ads. Any time I try to demo my iPhone it’s embarrassing how slow it is - but I love it! Though I’m still wondering about the Un-tied States you mention in the article!!
this is for the old edge iPhone and is no longer on the air!
this news is no news
At least 2 people…not 200 or 2000, but 2. Now that’s a headline.
ex ped: It’s the agency’s action, Human from Melbourne, FL, not the number of complaints, that makes this news.
The ad was for the first gen iPhone. The ad has not been aired for some time. So the net effect of this action by ASA is zero.
Finish the story, moron.
That is a first generation iPhone. The kind they don’t sell anymore.
Get off your lazy ass, stop reading someone else’s stuff and warming it over. You dumbasses are all the same.
Do something original and find your own news and do your own research.
Parties need to take potshots on Apple. And this is to be expected of the leader
Pete seems to have an axe to grind doesn’t he.
Personally I’ve never given a second thought to typewriters, electric or otherwise, but it is nice to live in a country where there are advertising standards at least.
Love,
A Brit
British morons . . .
Still haven’t figured out the difference between “the Web” and internet functionality . . .
Of course, most Brits (mostly “muts” today) also thought the invention of the electric typewriter was “conspiratorial” and “deceptive” . . .
Thank you Phil for doing this important work. Thank you Phil. War in Iraq?
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
This is interesting. My desire to own an I-phone just flew out the window when I read in this article that it does not support flash or java. These are major programs used all over the internet. Why does the browser not support these programs. Obviously Apple is trying to promote quicktime over flash and something else over java. I don’t like it. It smacks of the tactics gates used to put all his competitors out of business until the government reined him.