Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone ad rapped as 'misleading'
- Thread starter redgaz26
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I agree with this decision.
A lot of present day advertising, not just apple, should be subjected to similar scrutiny because they are inherently misleading. The general population isn't as aware as we forum posters
Look no further than a lot of the keynotes that we all salivate over (e.g. mobileme Push) It's so bad that I wait for my fellow beta testers to provide comprehensive feedback before I leap into a purchase
A lot of present day advertising, not just apple, should be subjected to similar scrutiny because they are inherently misleading. The general population isn't as aware as we forum posters
Look no further than a lot of the keynotes that we all salivate over (e.g. mobileme Push) It's so bad that I wait for my fellow beta testers to provide comprehensive feedback before I leap into a purchase
They do quite a neat job too - they highlight all the naughty and bad, and salacious ads, then if i'm remembering rightly, they then do a top 10 for the year on the website. Makes it much easier to see the ads (see the recent pulled drink ad for Orangina, the recent perfume ad etc.)
Is anybody else thinking what I am?
Is that the internet in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Is that the internet in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
It doesn't matter if there are more flexible, powerful solutions than Flash. It's used by a huge number of sites on the internet, and if there is no Flash support then Apple can't claim it supports "all the parts of the internet". (I haven't seen which advert they're referring to, so I don't know the exact wording).
From what I remember, Safari on OS X doesn't come with Flash. It's something you have to download and install separately. It's the same in Windows. Flash is a plug-in. As in, not necessary to get online.
When I used my iPhone today at work, I can most certainly say it's the internet in my pocket. No other phone comes close. Heck, it's almost more enjoyable than using Safari, Firefox or IE on a computer.
Also, claims like these are the reason we have, "This bag is not a toy" and "don't use while asleep" or "this cup is hot" (for coffee) printed on stuff that common sense should tell us. This garbage is one of the reasons I wouldn't mind burning my house down and moving to the jungles of Africa to live without money and the "modern" world.
When I used my iPhone today at work, I can most certainly say it's the internet in my pocket. No other phone comes close. Heck, it's almost more enjoyable than using Safari, Firefox or IE on a computer.
Also, claims like these are the reason we have, "This bag is not a toy" and "don't use while asleep" or "this cup is hot" (for coffee) printed on stuff that common sense should tell us. This garbage is one of the reasons I wouldn't mind burning my house down and moving to the jungles of Africa to live without money and the "modern" world.
But will you get 3G coverage there? And how will you charge your iPhone.
Again, sorry, just in one of those moods I guess.
Hahah, nice.But will you get 3G coverage there? And how will you charge your iPhone.
Again, sorry, just in one of those moods I guess.
Don't apologize, I get a bit bent out of shape when stupidity, laws and/or the federal government is brought up. I know, I know, I'm a hypocrite ... but that's good because that means I'm human.
What a load. Is Apple misleading people about crappy websites that only render correctly on Internet Explorer?
Blah blah blah, Apple is misleading, blah blah blah. Yeah, we know. We also know that lots of average people don't know that the iPhone doesn't have Flash plugins. That's the real point here. Sure, it sucks, but this issue has been discussed in the forums SO MANY times that its just ridiculous to keep going on about it. People say "but you have to put yourself in other people's shoes who don't visit this site." Well guess what? Everyone here visits this site. That's why we're here--and this topic has been beaten to death over and over and over and over and over. So just let it go. Geeze. I could understand making this post if it was August 2007 but its August 2008 now. The iPhone has the premiere mobile browser that offers unmatched usability and speed. Move on!!
"OMG you guys, Apple says that OS X is the ultimate operating system. But guess what? It can't even run EXE files! Those files are like standard on 90% of the world's computers. I'm totally pissed that I just found out about this. We should all get together and sue them or something. This is false advertising! I don't care that OS X provides a superior operating system experience compared to all the alternatives...I'm mad!!"
.....yeah.
"OMG you guys, Apple says that OS X is the ultimate operating system. But guess what? It can't even run EXE files! Those files are like standard on 90% of the world's computers. I'm totally pissed that I just found out about this. We should all get together and sue them or something. This is false advertising! I don't care that OS X provides a superior operating system experience compared to all the alternatives...I'm mad!!"
.....yeah.
The "non-desktop Internet"? You mean the mobile internet that Steve Jobs mocked at MWSF 2007 when he introduced the iPhone before talking about how this thing could use the real internet?
Now I don't dispute that, execution wise, Apple's iPhone Safari browser is likely one of the best internet browsing experiences you'll get on a cell phone. Point is, that's not what Apple tried to sell us.
Here's an analogy: Suppose Apple touted their next iPhone as being able to make you a full breakfast every morning and Steve mocked other cell phones because they could only toast bread. Then, when the iPhone was released, all it did was toast bread, slather on jam, and pour a glass of OJ. People are like, wait a minute... I expected pancakes, sausage, and eggs. But then apologists are like, stop whining. It's not a full breakfast but you're still getting jam and OJ, which is more than you'd get with other cell phones. And that's true, it's better than the competition, but that's not what Apple advertised the product as capable of. This is not about whether the iPhone exceeds the competition but whether it completely lives up to one of it's top selling points. Okay, that analogy gave me a headache.
Agreed. I always hate sites that use Flash. They are heavy, they are bloated, their text cannot be copied easily, they suddenly quit, etc., etc. I hope Apple continue to NOT support Flash so more Web sites will hopefully stay away from Flash!
i bet if the iphone supported flash there would be threads complaining about how sites take forever to load. lol
Yeah, you must really miss DOS...
And why do you think anyone cares about what doesn't bother you? On second thought, I misused "think." You don't.
Go cry, on your cheap version of the iPhone.
P.S. Flash is here to stay, just like graphical UI. The ad is misleading. Period.
Good god
This issue has been discussed to death. All ads present their products in the best possible light.
Enough.
This issue has been discussed to death. All ads present their products in the best possible light.
Enough.
Yes, they do. But some ads cross the line and lie.
Or are the fanboys here claiming that there is a vast conspiracy against Apple, or that ASA hates the iPhone.
The same characters here would be making similar lame "who needs it" arguments if Apple hadn't offered a browser at all.
Get a grip, dudes.
That's completely irrelevant in this context: The advert in question basically said other phones give you a "cut down" version of the internet, but the iPhone gives you it all. This is untrue. Yes, it gives you a better view than any other phone, but that doesn't mean the advert is accurate.
The lack of flash and Java doesn't bother me at all, but I can fully understand (and agree with) the ASA's decision: The advert is misleading
Just because the iPhone 3G doesn't work in some areas doesn't mean the iPhone is at fault or the commercial is misleading. What about those people (like me) who have a perfectly good iPhone 3G and good coverage? The ad isn't misleading to me/them... so that should mean it isn't misleading just that there are people out there that don't have as good of 3G coverage or that coverage is overloaded (an AT&T problem).
Now completely different part not dealing with the above:
I really don't see the problem (even if I had a 3G crippled phone) because I believe that no matter what people should look at the product they want to buy and at least do a little research on it, so if someone buys an iPhone expecting to have every single webpage on the internet work perfectly, they deserve what they get because they didn't research a product before they bought it. Of course, this is coming from a person that researches every product extensively before he buys it and I can sometimes tell the person helping me with that product (at the store) something he didn't know about it. But again, I like to be informed about what I buy (like many of you) because I have common sense and know that advertising is meant to sell the product, to give usp's and not to give the drawbacks.
Ok, that's my long rant... mainly built off of having to read about advertising for the past hour or so...
What, silly specifics like Apple made misleading claims? Don't get me wrong - I don't miss flash and Java at all, but that advert was misleading and the ASA were 100% correct in their judgement: The advert said that other phones give you a cut down version of the internet, but the iPhone gives you it all. That is clearly incorrect: It gives you a bigger subset than most other devices, but it's still a subset, even ignoring the fact that "The Internet" is more than the world wide web.
iPhone 'misleading' advert banned
From the Guardian:
The Video
A TV ad for Apple's iPhone has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for misleading consumers after it over-hyped the internet capabilities of the smart phone.
The TV ad showed the internet navigation prowess of the iPhone, with images zooming in on a weather forecast for Cape Town and a map of how to get to Heathrow airport.
"You never know which part of the internet you'll need ... which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone," ran a voiceover.
The Advertising Standards Authority received two complaints that the claim was misleading because the iPhone did not support Flash or Java, which are both integral to many web pages.
Apple said that the aim of the ad was to highlight how the iPhone can offer access to all internet websites, while many other handsets only offer lower-level access to WAP versions of sites or those selected by service providers.
The US technology giant said that the web browser the iPhone uses, Safari, was built to open internet standards.
Flash and Java technology were not open source, said Apple, adding that it could not ensure compatability with "every third-party technology in the marketplace".
The company said that none of the content in the ad was Java or Flash-based and that the line "all parts of the internet" meant website availability, "not every aspect of functionality".
Advertising pre-vetting service Clearcast said the ad had been given the green light for broadcast after a "demonstration and the advertiser's assurances".
However, the Advertising Standards Authority said that claims made by Apple implied that "users would be able to access all websites and see them in their entirety".
Because the ad had not explained the limitations of the iPhone, the ASA concluded that "the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone".
The ASA ordered that the TV ad must not be broadcast again in the same form.
SOURCE
From the Guardian:
The Video
A TV ad for Apple's iPhone has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for misleading consumers after it over-hyped the internet capabilities of the smart phone.
The TV ad showed the internet navigation prowess of the iPhone, with images zooming in on a weather forecast for Cape Town and a map of how to get to Heathrow airport.
"You never know which part of the internet you'll need ... which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone," ran a voiceover.
The Advertising Standards Authority received two complaints that the claim was misleading because the iPhone did not support Flash or Java, which are both integral to many web pages.
Apple said that the aim of the ad was to highlight how the iPhone can offer access to all internet websites, while many other handsets only offer lower-level access to WAP versions of sites or those selected by service providers.
The US technology giant said that the web browser the iPhone uses, Safari, was built to open internet standards.
Flash and Java technology were not open source, said Apple, adding that it could not ensure compatability with "every third-party technology in the marketplace".
The company said that none of the content in the ad was Java or Flash-based and that the line "all parts of the internet" meant website availability, "not every aspect of functionality".
Advertising pre-vetting service Clearcast said the ad had been given the green light for broadcast after a "demonstration and the advertiser's assurances".
However, the Advertising Standards Authority said that claims made by Apple implied that "users would be able to access all websites and see them in their entirety".
Because the ad had not explained the limitations of the iPhone, the ASA concluded that "the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone".
The ASA ordered that the TV ad must not be broadcast again in the same form.
SOURCE
In a world where every day I see ads making claims for cosmetic products, probiotics etc. that have absolutely no scientific basis, where ads imply that drinking various drinks will make you look cool etc. etc., I really have to wonder who would bother to complain about this.
