Apple has been told to withdraw a TV advert for the iPhone after making claims that the Advertising Standards Authority found to be misleading.

Two members of the public made complaints about the advert, which said that "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone".

The complaints centred around the fact that the iPhone doesn't support Java or Flash, which are integral to many web pages.

When presented with the complaints, Apple said that it "believed that it was clear that the reference in the ad to 'all parts of the internet' referred to internet site availability, not to every aspect of functionality available on every website".

Apple stated that though the iPhone supported open standards, Java and Flash were not open-source and required a plug-in to make them work, even using a desktop computer.

However, the ASA was not convinced.

"We considered that, because the ad had not explained the limitations, viewers were likely to expect to be able to see all the content on a website normally accessible through a PC rather than just having the ability to reach the website," the ASA said in its judgement.

"We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone," the judgment continued.

In other iPhone news, the mysterious 'iPhone Girl' has been found.

www.asa.org.uk
www.apple.com/uk/iphone

Win a Nokia N81 8GB mobile phone

Back to index