So I got a bunch of email about this this morning, and it’s certainly noteworthy. I’m an iPhone user and I have to say, I really love the device despite some obvious flaws, but it’s also about a million times better than the competition, so it’s unclear what my problem is. Anyway, in usual Apple fashion, the company has exaggerated its product’s capabilities. But this time, finally, someone called them on it.
An Apple iPhone advert has been banned by the advertising standards watchdog for exaggerating the phone's speed.
The advert boasted the new 3G model was "really fast" and showed it loading internet pages in under a second.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints by 17 people who said the TV advert had misled them as to its speed.
Apple UK said it was comparing the 3G model with its 2G predecessor and its claims were "relative not absolute".
The advert repeatedly stated that the phone was "really fast" and showed news pages and the Google maps service taking just fractions of a second to appear.
Text on the screen said: "Network performance will vary by location."
After upholding the viewers' complaints, the ASA said the advert must not appear again in the same form.
It said the advert was likely to lead viewers to believe that the device actually operated at or near to the speeds shown in the advert.
The watchdog concluded: "Because we understood that it did not, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead."
Bravo.
And before any of you Apple noobs complains, I’ll just point out this video, which, in my own extensive experience, is exactly what using an iPhone is really like. And is thus why this ad is truly deceptive.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in about this.