Ad Authority Bans Apple iPhone 3G Ad For Fals Speed Claim

According to Guardian report, this is the second time that Apple is breaching the advertising code for making misleading claims about the iPhone 3G since it's TV ads were banned by the Advertising Authority of UK last August.

Apple's latest TV campaign, by ad agency TBWA/London, made claims that the iPhone could access the internet, and download content, "really fast".

The ASA received 17 complaints that the ad was misleading for "exaggerating the speed of the iPhone 3G".

Apple UK said that the claims made in the ad were "relative rather than absolute in nature".

The company added that the claim was a comparison between the first-generation 2G iPhone and the new 3G version.

In its ruling, the ASA said that while the majority of consumers would be familiar with the performance of mobile phones "many might not be fully aware of the technical differences between the different types of technology".

Apple's claim that the 3G iPhone was "really fast", shown in an ad with speedy visuals of the internet being used on one of the smartphones would "lead viewers to believe that the device actually operated at or near to the speeds shown in the ad", the regulator said.

The ASA said the ad was misleading and should not appear again in its current form.

The Inquirer Reports on iPhone 3G TV Ad ban.

When showing the web access the only on-screen text stated, "Network performance will vary by location" – or if your phone’s not in this ad it won’t work this quickly.

Following a couple of weeks with this ad in place the usual irritants crept out of their dusty corners to complain, this time saying that they believed the ad exaggerated the speed of the Iphone, and was therefore misleading.

The Advertising Standards Authority's goal is to make sure all advertising, wherever it appears, meets the high standards laid down in the advertising codes. Consumers can complain online, and explain how the ASA is working to keep UK advertising standards as high as possible.