The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a self-regulatory organization of the ad industry in the United Kingdom, after receiving complaints from two local television viewers – taking issue with what has been referred to as ‘misleading advertisements’ for the iPhone 3G, has issued an adjudication against Apple (AAPL) UK Ltd.
In dispute is a 30-second ad by Apple, which shows a user scrolling through different web pages of weather reports, mapping and hotel bookings via the Safari browser – before a voice-over says: “You never know which part of the internet you’ll need ; which is why all the parts of the Internet are on the iPhone.”
The complainers’ assertion here is that the iPhone is incompatible with, and does not support Flash and Java, two proprietary technologies which are integral in terms of displaying web pages and increasing their interactivity. Subsequently, they have deemed iPhone’s 3G claims as the device capable of accessing “all parts of the internet”, as inaccurate, misleading and limited in its internet functionalities.
When contacted by the ASA, the Cupertino-based company was forced to withdraw its 30-second ad but, said the Safari web browser on the iPhone was built to open internet standards, the same as Safari on a home or office computer. Apple also added, they could not ensure compatibility with every third party plug-in technology in the marketplace and, in order to create the best customer experience, had created their platform on open standards.
However, based on its assessment, the ASA ruled the ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence) and 5.2.2 (Implications), consequently banning the ad from being broadcasted again in its current form.
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