14 DAY TRIAL // Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has banned another Apple advertisement touting the iPhone as "really fast" on the web. The report notes that 17 complaints were filed in regards to the ad, which depicted the user switching from the Times Online to Google Maps, and lastly, the iPhone's Mail application.
The ASA claims Apple depicts the elusive iPhone 3G as being able to complete the above-mentioned actions in "a fraction of a second." While none of the Internet-related actions are completed that fast in the ad, forums will nevertheless show that 3G on Apple's iPhone isn't all that great.
Ever since the release of the revised handset, Apple has been slammed and bashed numerous times over the way it touts the iPhone's 3G capabilities. Some users went as far as suing the company, as they had bought the device believing it would surf the web as advertised.
With the ASA banning Apple's second iPhone 3G ad in the UK, Apple is now trying to defend itself by saying that the respective commercial makes statements "relative rather than absolute in nature," which were just a "comparison of the new 3G iPhone with its 2G predecessor," according to a Macnn report.
Apple also believes that those who complained about the ad were experienced cellphone users, hence they would know that connection speeds could vary depending on certain criteria, such as location at the time of use. However, the ASA strongly believes that the majority of TV viewers in the UK are pretty much oblivious to the differences between 2G and 3G speeds.
Another ad, touting the iPhone's Safari browser as capable of putting the whole Internet in one's pocket, was previously banned by the ASA in the same territory. The independent, self-regulatory organization then (August 2008) concluded that the iPhone could not access websites that used Java or Flash, despite Apple's claim that "all parts of the internet are on the iPhone." Two members of the public complained about the TV advert, prompting the ASA to tell Apple UK to stop airing the ad.