UK watchdog bans 'really fast' iPhone TV ads

As an iPod Touch owner, when I saw this ad, I believed it. We don't have this 3G network so I always thought it was as fast as it was advertised. I mean it's Apple! In all honesty though, if this was banned, then 10,000 other commercials should be banned for being misleading.

http://iPodTouchScene.com

Hi everyone u guys are all morons i live in canada and ive had the phone for 4 months and i just watched the ad and i can keep up with wat they show in the ad no problem so i dont no wat u phones you guys have but iphones are amazing!! And the phones not supposed to crash thats for robert.

This add was ridiculous, I'm glad it's gone, i sell iPhone and it just sets customers expectations too high!

because the ad is specifically advertising the speed of the product it should show a fair representation. This ad obviously doesn't.

If the ad was just going through the features of the iphone and speed was never mentioned it would be a different story.

You're asking why the advertising industry are controlling advertising? Gee, I dunno. Perhaps they care what the public think of them. Perhaps they want the public have some trust in the adverts they make.

The industry doesn't want deceptive ads, because it discredits all ads.

It is unfortunate that people believe everything they see on TV. I laugh at a coworker who has Verizon and doesn't get any service at work when I have AT&T and have perfect reception. I always bring up their ads and how silly they are. Neither did I care when I saw a Sony Ericsson ad for my old phone working flawlessly, which I very well knew was more susceptible to crashes than my iPhone. The governments and regulators of western civilization set standards so low it lulls people into believing they no longer need to think rationally and should believe everything they see, which is dangerous. Half the ads on TV are misleading and are designed to be to get you to buy a product. Let's teach our children (and adults) to take everything we see with a grain of salt and move on with our lives. We'll all live safer and happier.

Well, I'm sure that the iPhone isn't the first phone ad to show things "beyond realistic performance". Its an ad, I'm sure they wouldn't want to show the page taking 5 seconds to load or it taking 15-30 sec. to install an app in a 30 second commercial. Its ment to get you into the store, not to get you to buy it ASAP.

I'm sure allot of phone ads showing what it can do exatruate this too. Apple is just getting flack for it for two reasons: The iPhone is popular and their Apple (aka very large company, which usually makes you very open for negative criticism).

Example, RIMs ad for the BlackBerry Storm here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARf_e_sV31k, and HIC's ad for the Touch Diamond here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aZgRB3OstE. Maybe they both should be sued for the same reasons, such as showing some things loading instantly. Basically, I just think that the British Government is just blowing hot air in my opinion.

OMG! What exactly is the problem? The iPhone is the best and fastest mobile device i know. And advertising is never been reality - everybody knows. If Apple is not allowed to make such spots, every company on the planet has to be banned with their ads! Or has "Nokia connected" you to anyone, "O2 can" not always "do" and so on...

The ASA isn't the government, isn't funded by the government. It is self-regulation by the advertising industry.

I think I've said it enough times now.

The ad is an outrageous piece of deception from start to finish. It talks about speed and purports to show you the speed, but in fact you are looking at a fake animation. It wouldn't matter if there's a little asterisk and some small print saying "what you've just seen is fake" (except less clearly of course).

The iPhone is a device for general consumers, and I'm glad the ASA protects them from this kind of deception.

Oh, and the ASA isn't "the government", it's an independent self-regulatory organisation (SRO) of the advertising industry. It's not funded by the government. It has no legal powers.