News

Another "misleading" iPhone advert is shot down

by Bill Ray | posted on 09 December 2008

Apple's latest iPhone advert has been condemned by the ASA for giving the impression the phone could download and install applications quickly and easily, forcing the firm to pull the ad.

The advert shows the usual downloading and installing of an application with amazing ease, and ends with the small print reading: "Steps removed and sequence shortened. Network speeds may vary." This disclaimer basically means they could have shown anything on the screen and claimed it was software being installed.

We've been here before of course. Last time it was a US ad that was so successfully compared to reality in a video posted to YouTube, and in the UK Apple got slapped for claiming the whole internet was bundled with every iPhone. But there's a difference between showing things happening quickly and removing steps needed to complete the process you're supposed to be demonstrating.

It's a shame, as installing applications on the iPhone really is very smooth, but 17 people felt the ad was misleading and it won't be shown again in its current form. Not that Apple will care - the Advertising Standards Authority is a toothless regulator run by the industry, so recommending ads be removed is all it can do these days.

Guy Kewney writes: If the advert industry were regulated, it would be illegal to post misleading adverts. But it isn't regulated; the ASA has a voluntary code.

So when you run a misleading advert on 50 TV channels in the UK, what's the penalty for misleading the audience?

Nothing.