In U.K., iPhone ad banned over 'all Internet' claim

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for the iPhone that promised users access to "all parts of the internet" on their Apple device.

Apple's iPhone 3G.

(Credit: Apple)

The TV advertisement featured an individual flicking through holiday-related Web pages on an iPhone to a voice-over saying: "You never know which part of the Internet you'll need. The 'do you need sun cream' part? The 'what's the quickest way to the airport' part? The 'what about an ocean view room' part? Or the 'can you really afford this' part? Which is why all the parts of the Internet are on the iPhone."

The ad prompted two objections to the ASA, claiming the commercial was misleading. As the device doesn't offer Flash or Java, and not all Web sites can be seen in their entirety, the complaints said.

Apple, however, sees the ad differently. The "all parts of the Internet" claim was in reference to the iPhone's ability to offer "full" Internet access--rather than displaying WAP pages, or walled-garden operator content, the company said.

The ASA said in its adjudication: "(Apple) believed the ad was not about technical details or the functionalities or plug-ins that were available on the iPhone, but the varied websites that users could visit and utilise. They said all the websites featured in the ad were available on the iPhone and were shown as they would be seen by the user. They said none of the content in the ad was Flash or Java based and the ad did not mention any other technical capabilities of the iPhone."

But the ASA upheld the complaints, saying the use of phrases "You'll never know which part of the Internet you'll need" and "All parts of the Internet are on the iPhone," combined with the omission, would lead users to believe they could see all sites and see them as they would through their PC.

The ASA ruling said: "We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the Internet capabilities of the iPhone." As a result, Apple can no longer broadcast the ad in its current form.

Apple declined to comment on the ruling.

Jo Best of Silicon.com reported from London.

[umbrae]

Nice to see a lie called a lie. Now if only the US would crack down on mis-information like this.

[alan_06]

Awesome ruling! It's easy to manipulate the public using clever ads. I agree people buy products what's advertised over media and believe to have those features. what's says on the ad should reflect on the product. If not, ban that ad.

Flash is a nice rich graphic interface. more than 95% browsers supports it and even there is a mobile version (Flash Lite) . If not full flash, Apple should at least support Flash Lite.

[Renegade Knight]

Here I was ready to think the UK was nutz. However I think they got it right. If Apple offered up full suport for flash & java maybe. If apple actually allowed third party apps then yes. As it is. Nope. Not the full internet.

[fuzbears]

Apple was so clearly trying to be misleading in this case. "You never know what part you need" clearly implies you will be able to get into that banking or health site that requires java. A web browser without Java or Flash is of marginal use on the web.

[moshelinho]

this is good. apple should be slapped some fines for such false claims

Iphone ads here in india are also misleading...it says..."browse the internet at 3G speeds"......well..3G technology is not available in india then how can we do that???

the Telecom regulatory authority of india is going to auction the 3G spectrum in a few months time.

[open-mind]

Anyone know if Java and Flash are defined in the W3C specification?

In other words, are Java/Flash technically "part of the internet" or are they actually proprietary extensions to the internet?

Maybe Linux and OS X are out too. Neither can access "all parts of the internet". I'm not aware of any Lunix/Mac specific plugins, but if they exist, then maybe Windows is out too.

All this mincing of words seems a little silly IMHO. Maybe apple should have said "the real internet, not just the mobile internet" instead.

[sanenazok]

Regarding Linux and OS X, do these products advertise complete interoperability with all of the Internet? Nope. so it doesn't matter whether they work completely or are merely sufficient for a purpose.

[dude7895]

I hope this catches on.

[MaggieRed]

Amazing how the masses needs the government to make decisions for each of you. If you are so smart then you would know what the ad means, and if the product doesn't fulfill your needs ? don't buy it. If you are so intelligent in India and you know you have no 3G service then don't buy the product.

Gawd it astounds me how you people want governments to do everything for you.

[sanenazok]

Welcome to Europe! People can't be trusted to select bananas with the proper curvature so I'm not surprised that they need help picking tech items.

[SnidleyWhiplash]

Don't be daft. It's not making decisions for you, it's making sure you have accurate information on which to make decisions. (If you don't get that distinction, then you may be in need of somebody to make decisions for you.) Even in a libertarian paradise (the mythical world where anarchists get police protection from their slaves), the government still does have a role in protecting consumers from abusers of the marketplace.

[thelemurking]

Wow! A ruling out of the U.K. that makes sense! Now will we follow suit across the pond or will we still swim in this ocean of misinformation. Apple knows it's misleading!

I am hoping to see Skyfire expand it's lineup and offer browsers for both the iPhone and Instinct. It will do a much better job at mobile browsing than the default browsers found on both phones.

[sanenazok]

I agree with the decision. The ad was meant to show that Apple has a "full" browser on its phone, but a full browser isn't enough now-a-days to reach the entirety of the Internet. The plugins are too darn important to ignore. I don't see why Apple doesn't just open its API...hahaha what a joke. Apple's so proprietary about everything, I'm not surprised that there's no support for basic technologies from outside vendors. I also think it's good that a regulator stepped in and made a decision on the basis of some technical knowledge. If this happened somewhere else, the ad would have been rejected since the phone doesn't have a valve to connect some "pipes" which must be necessary since the Internet is a series of tubes.

[catbutt5]

What a ridiculous ruling...
It's the equivalent of a car manufacturer saying in an ad "Now all the roads of America are yours to travel" and then having some crotchety crackpot filing a lawsuit because a flood washed out the local bridge so he claims "Ha, here's one place you can't drive!" I'm gonna sue for false advertising!
How is that the car manufacturer's fault? Their car got you there but you weren't allowed to drive any further... that's the local government's problem. Just like serving a website... best practices dictates website operators with Flash or Javascript or other niche content should not assume anything about the browser and have all content degrade gracefully. No one ever does.
Once again, is this the manufacturer's fault? Hardly.
Frankly, if this is what it means to be compatible with the internet, then no browser is fully compatible. Period.
BTW: almost no sites use Java. Javascript yes, Java, NO.

[Pete Bardo]

MaggieRed: If you're that smart, why did you even bother to read this article? And you didn't stop there, you read all these comments, too! Maybe the rest of us aren't as smart as you... Hey, I'll bet you were smart enough not to use your iPhone to post your comments here.

[Zaunto]

I have to admit that Apple does use some pretty clever ads. Good ruling. Will never happen in the USA though.

[MaggieRed]

Well Pete your wrong, I used an iMac and Safari to make the post.

I am of the belief that I don't need the government to baby sit me and protect me from everything that occurs in the world, especially the advertisement of a product.

Too many people today, what everything handed to them including the ability to make a reasonable decision based on a products advertisement, as to whether or not to make a purchase.

Let's see other than this being one of the more ridiculous things in the news today and ridiculous actions taken by a government, next thing you'll want is to make it a class action lawsuit. You were misled about the meaning of the word "is."

[gggg sssss]

If the British had any clue, there would still be a British Empire.

Real Macs don't do Silverlight or Windows Media, or VB script, so Apple can't claim that they are internet capable either? What a bunch of twits.

[gggg sssss]

And another thing, the PC vs MAC ads stretch the truth quite a bit as well. Wouldn't it be nice to see them banned as well.

[Seaspray0]

It was once shown that the "new and improved" label on a box of laundry soap was the label itself. When business is willing to lie to us, then yes, we need the governement to regulate the ads and protect the public. Even the police dept. moto is "to protect and server." While this is more a stretch of the truth than the outright lie on the laundry soap box, it's still trying to pull a fast one on the consumer. Shame on apple. I would think they would now try to be more honest, but their recent behavior over the last year says otherwise.