UK's Advertising Standards Authority yanks iPhone ad for being misleading
By Nilay Patel 
posted Aug 27th 2008 11:53AM
posted Aug 27th 2008 11:53AM
Apple's iPhone 3G ads paint a pretty cheery picture of the device in action, but just as many of you have noted, the omission of Flash and Java means there's a big difference between what the "the real internet" and what's on the iPhone -- enough so that the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has pulled one of Apple's latest ads from the airwaves because it claims "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone." At least two people complained to the ASA that the ad was misleading because sites that use Flash and Java don't work on the iPhone, and the board agreed, saying that "We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone" because "viewers were likely to expect to be able to see all the content on a web site normally accessible through a PC rather than just having the ability to reach the website." If we had to guess, we'd say this decision is more likely to prompt Apple to be more careful with its ads in the future rather than ever bring Flash or Java to the iPhone, but you know Adobe is feeling pretty smug right about now. Check the ad after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
No flash or java, but it's still a major improvement compared to what lot of mobiles phones had which showed a 'mobile' version of a website. I will take the Safari version :-).
Fanboy, how can you call no flash or java a major improvement? Are you still trying to justify your iphone purchase? Jeez!
How is it that cut and paste, java and flash are still a conundrum to a big innovative company like apple? (I suspect they have a real reason but are not telling)
FYI Skyfire Beta has Java Flash and can play youtube videos in the browser. Oh and its faster than Safari mobile, Opera mobile, IE mobile....
The PSP from four years ago has flash http://www.psponme.com/list_psp.asp?cat=Arcade why the I-phone does not I do not understand.
well, the iPhone seems to show "iPhone formatted" web pages... The phone clearly cant handle the full web. I've had safari crash a lot when loading big pages.
@OneLove - the major improvement is how well you can browse full web pages on the iPhone vs on a Palm, Black Berry or WinMo cell. Go out and try each phone and then come back and tell us which one is the best for browsing. Yeah flash and java are missing from the iPhone but who cares - those pages suck on any smartphone.
@ian - yes some pages are formatted for the iPhone by the site creator to add iPhone specific features but you dont have to use those pages. You can go to their standard page and navigate it just fine on the iPhone.
Are there any normal webpage you can go to that don't require flash or java? NoScript in Firefox makes it seem like almost every page has some sort of flash or java script...that would make it quite difficult to browse the internet on it then.
ian: Christ, the stupidity still amazes me. Did you know web sites can detect which browser you're using and redirect to a specially formatted page for your browser? A lot of sites do that for the iPhone now. It does NOT mean that Safari on the iPhone can't handle normal web sites. I mean... the sheer idiocy of that statement is pretty going beyond normal stupid. It's megastupid.
Hey OneLove, how about not having the performance hit/battery drain; annoying ads, and ability to fry an egg on my phone I'll get with the flash support. Quantity of content on flash doesn't equal quality/quality of content on flash.
@cockboy
And you do know that other devices allow you to configure your browser so that it treats your device as a desktop not some piss poor purpose built compromise?
S60's webkit browser has Flash/Java.
But this isn't about iPhone vs. Whatever. Apple lied by saying that the iPhone gives you the whole Internet. Whether you like Flash content or not, it's part of the Internet. Also, Internet != web. Where's my FTP client, Apple? ;)
Mark: So a web browser (Safari) that scores 100/100 on the Acid3 test is a "piss poor compromise" in your opinion?
Wow, you're dumber than I thought. And that's really saying something.
Yeah, not being able to play flash was a major issue I had iTouch (iPhone)...that and a lot of other thigs are the major reasons I returned it!
@cockboy
So what? It scores 100% on *gasp* pages it's directed to! Whoopee!
Meanwhile, in other news, Opera 9.5 scores 100% and doesn't need redirected.
Hey, ever wonder why all your posts are low ranked? I'll not keep you in suspense - it's because you're a fuckmuppet.
@ JMMGoalster
For future reference, Java and JavaScript are two different things. iPhone supports JavaScript.
@ OneLove
"How is it that cut and paste, java and flash are still a conundrum to a big innovative company like apple?"
They aren't, you're just not thinking straight. In case no-one noticed, Apple are incredibly smart at marketing. The features you mentioned will come in the iPhone 3G Flash whereby, like the iPhone 3G, several-year old technologies that should have been on the phone in the first place are put on there, with El Jobso standing on stage with essentially the same phone as the last two, announcing that these commonplace technologies are now present on the iPhone. When questioned on why cut and paste, java and flash were not present on the preceeding phones, Apple will create some story about reduced battery life, reduced performance or some crap and all the fanboys will say "OMG LEIK THAT IS SOOO TRUE LOL!!!1!11!!"; all the while N95 users sitting there comfortably playing Newgrounds games and viewing videos on websites other than YouTube.
Of course when those technologies emerge on the iPhone, Apple will no doubt incorporate code that helps 'user security'. Features such as requiring Apple to approve all videos on any website just in case the iPhone is left vulnerable, and only being able to copy and paste less than 100 characters in case of virus replication.
P.S. For all the iPhone fanboys that become enraged at my statement, I'll leave you alone as I maybe use my 2-year-old Samsung D900 to transfer some files to my friends with Bluetooth, install some Java applications - and maybe if it crashes I'll just take the battery out and put it back in again, and then maybe check an MS Office document or a PDF - just to make sure it's okay. Don't worry, I'll take some pictures with my 3MP camera too.
Mark - More name calling? Really? That's pretty sad, but not unexpected. And why would Safari need to be redirected? It passed the exact same tests Opera did. What exactly is the part of that whole thing that you're having trouble with? Was it the 100% part? Was it the "doesn't need to be redirected" part?
What other excuses can you make up? I want to see how far you can go with the excuses and backpedaling. I'm laughing at the whole "redirected" thing too, where did that come from? I mean you have obviously never actually used Safari on the iPhone or we wouldn't be having this delightful conversation. Haha, needs to be redirected. That's hilarious.
@monkfishbandana:
You forgot to tell them you'll have a video of your adventures too! :-D Maybe from a basic S40 device from Nokia (you know... the kinda ones you can get for $50) or any other phone that has a camera!
I call no Flash and no Java a HUGE improvement. In the last few months I've simply been avoiding sites that render in Flash. There are plenty of alternative sites out there. If I Google something and I hit a site that uses flash for navigation I hit the back button, and not just on my iPhone. For the rest there is Adblock Plus.
Flash is the last refuge if the incompetent Web developer. Look at Apple's web site, for example. Lots of interactive stuff, looks really good, no flash.
@Zak
Apple claimed that the iPhone has the "whole Internet".
The Acid3 test does not indicate whether a device or browser can show the whole Internet. It only provides compliance testing for SOME web technologies.
Mobile OSX's Safari obviously scores 0% on the Flash compliance test. Whether you like it or not, Flash is used through-out the Internet.
@CraigJ
you're not fooling anyone.
hey i just bought the iCar. the iLighter doesn't work and it only hs 3 iWheels but i'm told i can use the in-car system(an iPhone) to get the 4th from the online store in a few months. oh but by the way, they're redesigning the shape of the wheels so you'll have to buy all 4. and also a new iCar to fit them on.
this getting through?
This is not the first time the brit advertising standards agency has come down on Apple. They got trashed for the G5 Power Mac "world's most powerful PC" ads because, as the agency claimed, it was not the fastest computer available at all tasks under all circumstances.
As for this one? Seems like they're being awfully nitpicky. I think the iPhone browser fits the description, relative to other mobile browsers, even if you can't see flash and javascript.
@cockboy
Rich has pointed out why you're a clueless clown.
In fact, judging by your low rankings, it seems about 100% of Engadget thinks you're a total cock. Still never mind, there's always that photo of Steve for you to pleasure yourself over.
@ tpadekar
I hadn't thought of that; mind you, with all of those other really, really, really battery draining tasks going on - well, I'd better get my Nokia 6230 from 2003 to video instead.
Even my V220 had video. That's a relief! We all thought that the iPhone not having video was bad! Can you imagine if people like Motorola or Nokia started putting it on their entry-level phones? Can you imagine?
When that day comes, Apple should really start feeling embarrassed...
To the guys above me, who the hell uses Java applets in a web browser anymore? This is NOT 1996 for god sakes.
While Flash is nice, Adobe's OSX port is incredibly inefficient! It literally will cause a new macbook pro's fans to go to max RPM, while the CPU utilization will be pegged at 100%. I can only imagine if they used the desktop version on the iPhone without extensive optimization work.
Regardless, every other "smartphone" besides the iPhone that I've used to browse the web has been so deplorable, that it wouldn't matter if you had Flash or Java support! The iPhone is WAY AHEAD of every other device on the market.
Top-end Nokias have been able to view Flash for a long time, thanks to Adobe.
who the hell is "cockboy"?
Breaking news!
The bodies of the entire UK Advertising Standards Authority have been found dead in their offices. The only evidence of foul play is a note left at the scene with the words "Advertize this -SJ"
Finally this is on Engadget. I sent this in eight hours before it was finally added to the blog.
No rush for the authors of engadget to put out bad news for apple.
cry more?
You can send Engadget news links
Adrian, that's what I was getting it.
I don't usually post comments onhere but I rely on engadget for up to the minute news. Heaven forbid I spend an hour or so "working" without knowing about the latest mouse/mp3/camera thingy.
Of course Engadget has to validate a news story before they publish it but I thought the response time would be a bit snappier.
Even though OneLove has a point, you're right... You don't see many articles holding Apple to their word (or reporting on flaws). Actually, in a lot of articles...there's been anti-Microsoft slams when the story didn't even involve Microsoft. When that happens, I usually take a break from reading Engadget for a month+. ...I'm hoping that the new editor promotes more unbiased investigative journalism.
Oh yah, will they also take down those "PC Vs. Mac" ads? They could be considered misleading from at least some angle :-P.
There are no Mac vs PC ads outside of the US AFAIK. In some countires (France for exemple) a company can't mention a competitor's name or product in their ad etc.)
Mitchell and webb did the pc v mac in the uk but were criticised for it and the adverts were pulled but I don't know why.
There are actually mac vs pc adverts in the uk... presented by the very funny mitchell and webb
I know why. They contained nothing but slander, lies and half truths.
@fanman
why do you guys take those ads so seriously? it's called competition and advertising. here's a hint, neither MS nor Apple represent _any_ of us, so quit crying.
It's like a hot chick telling me I can have access to her entire body, then just find out I can only touch some side boob.
ALL Adverting are Lies and Half-Truths. That's the way of the game. "Twice as Fast Half the price***"
***: Speed only represents controlled lab results only, price does not include service charges
At least the UK HAS Advertising standards. In the US, we just sue people. "OMG, Eating McDonalds 4x a day MADE ME FAT!!!" "OMG,. Cigarettes are BAD FOR YOU!!! I Thought they had Vitamin C and stuff!"
Christ....
The UK Mac & PC ads were probably pulled because of Mitchell and Webb's other TV shows at the time. You had Mac being portrayed by an actor whose other roles were about immature, self-obsessed idiocy, and PC portrayed by an actor whose characters are connected with flawed, lovable nerdishness. Probably not the message Apple wanted to send.
Is fanman the father of phanbouy?
But, you know.. phanbouy is hip, so he spells his name different and rebels against his father who is living in the past with a narrow mind.
what i find interesting about those ads is that justin long, at least how i see it portrays one of those 'pretend' tech savvy guys who might toss out a buzzword here and there but when it comes to specs and real technical knowledge, he knows nothing. the PC guy on the other hand looks like he was writing in Assembly in 1984 and could probably reroute the voltage from a mac's cpu to heat his coffee...
aren't older people supposed to know nothing while young people have all the tech knowledge? apparently apple wants things to be the other way around.
@phanbouy and MadMike: The big problem here is that Apple never includes stipulations or footnotes to hedge against their false advertising. They depict themselves as perfect. Go ahead and check their ads. There are truth-in-advertising laws that prevent blatant lies and protect the consumer. Apple has gotten away with it for a while now (for whatever reason). These tactics are anti-consumer and anti-competitive business practices. Any other company pulls this, they pay up. Apple deserves heavy fines and lawsuits for this...
@phanboy
What makes you think that I'm taking the adverts seriously? Saying "AHAHA sOrry guYs, it waS a JoKEs!!11!! HHUH HUH" doesn't detract from the fact that it's not based on any real world facts or occurrences. Apple is the only company I know that makes their adverts this way (that is, by making up bullshit about their competitor) and is allowed to continue.
About time someone put their foot down about Apple's misleading marketing.
It's not just apple...imagine if the US had an advertising standards authority. It would have to be as big as the IRS with the DoD's budget.
GO JAGUARS!
I believe they also made them pull the "world's fastest computer" ads for the PowerMac G5 a few years ago, also for being misleading.
They're sticklers over there--we can say anything in North America, and it's true because we said it! ;)
If Apple were held to full-disclosure on all of their US ads (like other companies -- check Apple's commercials, not even any fine print), I'm betting that they'd lose at least 25% of their sales per quarter. I'm actually shocked that it's taken this long before anyone has sued or they've been warned for their business practices.
I guess when an ex-Vice President (Al Gore*) is sitting on your board, the FCC tends to look the other way.
*doesn't it make Al an even bigger hypocrit to sit on the board of one of the least environmentally friendly companies in the US?
Opera Mobile 9.5 FTW!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J38n-X33AC8
Yup. Currently the best mobile browser I've used.
I've always wondered, why can't opera mini come out with an iPhone browser?
Apple: welcome to Micro$oft club..buggy and false claims..
oops it is...bu3Gy
Funny how everyone seems to be comparing apple's recent shortcomings to microsoft lately; no one ever locked me into using a certain broadband provider on this laptop or billing me a surcharge for trying to get a dodgy screen fixed.
and y isnt flash and java on iphone by now???
It actually is available on the iPhone. However, you have to send a 500 word, grammatically correct essay to apple on how much Flash and Java mean to you. Unfortunately, judging by your comment - you will most likely have to wait.
Aha, yes, Apple just got owned by UK's Advertising Standards Authority.
The best part about it? They're obviously not anti-Apple or pro-Microsoft, so you can safely say Apple have legitimately screwed up here.
I agree with them though, flash is such a huge part of the internet, if you want anything to do with the art industry (which is a big part of multimedia), you won't be able to view half the websites of your clients and partners out there on your iPhone. Try looking up fashion houses like Prada, Gucci, etc. as well, you'll find the majority of them use flash in their websites. Shopping online also has introduced zooming in and out through flash applets, see Macys or Neiman Marcus as examples.
Java I can't really comment on, but if I'm not mistaken a lot of converters, calculators and web applets use Java, giving the usability of a flash without the slow-down, anti-aliasing, copy>paste troubles etc.
Yes, those two people who complained about it must be feeling pretty good right now. Yep, two whole people.
Oh also, calculators and web applets? Seriously? Were you just not aware that the iPhone already has those things without Java, or what?
What about the 60,776,236 other people whom the board represents?
fanman: Um... what about them? They weren't complaining, two people were. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that before.
@kak, mate...
Tolstoy": "War and Peace"- "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing",
2 Good men. The fight against evil continues. Another bite taken out of the Apple. Soon the evilness of Apple will be rid from the world.
p.s this attribution to Tolsoy may be a little unfair to Edmund Burke, probably best to read Burke also:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke
@Zak
I wasn't going to reply to your trolling because you clearly are, as Mark Anderson has already stated, a "fuckmuppet", but you're just annoying me now. You know how they work out how many people watched a TV program based on a monitored test group? Well that's pretty much how the ASA works things out. Yes, only 2 people complained, but that doesn't mean that more people weren't misled by the advert. An advert getting 100 complaints is a major deal, because, surprisingly enough, most people don't care enough to actually write to the ASA. So when they do get complaints, it is their duty to fully investigate them, as clearly some people felt suitably compelled to actually get off their (entirely metaphorical) arses and do something about it. Think before you speak next time please.
He said flash applets. Ha!
And since when is government-controlled ANYTHING good? Just like socialist states to regulate the people.
"A government big enough to give you everything you need is powerful enough to take away everything you have."
The internet isn't flash and Java. In case you haven't noticed, net standards are like PHP, XHTML, etc. Flash is an Adobe creation, not a web standard.
Whenever I see Bill O'Reilly in action, I think of Zak.
The 3g is lie, 1st gen FTW
You guys must be crazy ...
You are becoming worse than the US even where you sue the fridge company because the food expired earlier than the end date.
What should apple or anybody else for that matter do ?
Who supports everything of anything ?
I really pity you ...
Not quite the same really....
No one got sued here, this was not pointless retribution - the solution seems quite civilised.
You shouldn't advertise that a device can access "all parts of the Internet", when no flash-based websites (which is quite a lot, especially if you include all sites that use flash navigation menus) can be accessed.
Simple as, really!
Wow. Just, wow. The sue culture is America, not the UK. Funnily enough, the government body appointed to make sure that OUR adverts don't lie is doing their job. More than I can say for the US. You'd think the US was completely incapable of advertising without either lieing or 'proving' they're good by saying everyone else is bad.
Nobody has been "sued". The advertising industry's own internal regulator ruled against the advert. I'm not sure who is more qualified to make decisions about fairness in advertising.
WE need flash! Get it together apple. While not totally bricked without flash, it just makes 0 sense. Even the new GPX2 Wiz thingy has a flash player on it. Stupid.
My lord. Almost every Apple ad is a lie or might as well be. The misleading crap they throw out at Vista and the PC in general. Sooooo much of it completely untrue. If you believe Apple ads you would swear the Apple invented things like the webcam and was the first one ever to embed it into a laptop.
I like the Apple design and I like a few PC designs. But I really don't like the mud slinging. Although I use both PCs and Macs, I often feel dirty these days running the Mac. Wait, I shouldn't say that here. Rabid fanboys on the loose! Someone save me!
"every Apple ad is a lie"
"I really don't like the mud slinging"
Hmm. And honestly, you feel "dirty" about using the Mac because of ADVERTISING? Are you really that much of a spineless pushover that you let TV spots designed to sell products dictate how you feel about using them? That's pretty sad, man.
What's wrong with being dirty? I like dirty... Dirty, dirty, dirty....
@Zak
Its more feeling dirty for supporting a company that put's out ads like that.
Funny that your logo IS from Marathon, which is made by Bungie, which was bought by microsoft. And yet you are a rabid apple Fanboy.
Zing.
I agree with you 100 percent. I have had Vista Ultimate running for a month on my XPS m1330 now. Runs GREAT. Everything "just works". And I HATE the pc vs mac commercials. I find them to be smug, pompous and VERY insulting. Kudos to ASA.
@ ivanotter
I suppose you wouldn't know that Marathon, Oni and Myth were released for Mac, originally. And Halo was originally built for the PS2? Microsoft only bought them when they needed a launch platform for the Xbox, and they got a lucky break with Bungie.
Now check them out; Microsoft still owns Halo, but not Bungie. Get a few things straight before you go making stupid remarks at people.
Vince: loves Apple and wonders why everyone's making such a big deal about flash. It'll come! Hang in there patient waiters, and fie on you lousy haters!
It's good someone stopped Apple on this. Now, we wait for people to discover that on windows mobile they can install the software they want... and possibly, on Android, they won't have to do something fancy to get the real network. Hopefully HTC can produce some good hardware to make these machines very happy.
And Apple can return to the pit from whence it came.
You think you have to do "something fancy" on the iPhone to get to "the real network"? Where do you idiots come from? Were you all dropped on your head when you were babies? Yes, here's your incredibly complicated procedure, Ben:
1. Open Safari
2. Go to a web site
Wow. I can see how that might be a total turn off for some people.
I enjoy using the iPod Touch for browsing the net, I check my mail and the news with it the moment I wake up in the morning. But flash would be a nice option, as would copy and paste (more useful to me than cut and paste), who can deny it? It seems odd that my iPod can currently tell me currency values, edit photos, teach me Chinese and check to see if my dining table is level to the ground, but won't let me copy a word of text to any of the dozen or so note-taking apps available. Oh well, roll on firmware 2.03, or 2.04, or maybe 2.1, or...
Zak, before you continue with your tirade of zealous bullshit, can I just alert you to one thing? Nearly every comment you've made thus far has been 'Low Ranked'.
aka: Fuck off *you* idiot.
Sincerely,
The Internet.
How's skype Zak? or Turn by turn navigation?
Those are things that can be done with the "real network" as he puts it. Many other phones can. Jailbroken iphones can. Its amazing what you can accomplish with freedom of choice.
L.Rawlins: Yes, because the rankings in the comments system here are a good indicator of the value of a post, right? Are you new to the internet or something? You're welcome to respond to my comments, but when you attack me instead of what I'm saying, you're just another clueless monkey at a keyboard.
tcc3: I wasn't aware turn by turn navigation was a feature of "the real network". How does that work again? Also, TomTom and TeleNav have both said they have a turn by turn navigation system coming for the iPhone. Amazing what you can learn when you're not just hating Apple for no apparent reason.
It probably wasn't what Apple intended, but the ad is still pretty misleading.
Sweet.
I wonder if the Touch pro would be able to use an ad with those words... Probably.
Flash or Java are web technologies. The Internet includes P2P, Gopher, HTTP, FTP, SSH, tor, Usenet, and a huge list of others. The iPhone barly accesses any of the Internet. It can access a lot of web pages using HTML, but that's pretty much it.
It's really riding the line between a smartphone and a dumbphone, it's capable of doing things a smartphone does, but only if King Jobs says it's cool.
Let me guess, your definition of "smartphone" requires that the phone have Flash, Java, copy and paste, turn by turn GPS directions and... what else do Apple haters complain about? I dunno. I would also guess that before the iPhone 3G came out, your definition of "smartphone" also included 3rd party apps, GPS and 3G. But since Apple implemented those, you had to change your definition of what a "smartphone" is.
Every time Apple makes improvements, you'll change your definition again just so you can say it's not a "smartphone". You'll do it until there's almost nothing left to complain about except one or two completely insignificant features, but you'll swear to heaven above that it's not a "smartphone" unless it has those two insignificant features. Right? Yeah.
@Zak
Wow, every post is defending Apple in some way or another. Here's an idea: accept that there are problems with the product and false claims were made and move on.
That Zak fellow sure likes defending his terrible purchase. ever consider that for the awful price / contract they charge, the consumer should have basic features and capabilities that can be found on any other phone? every time apple updates the iphone and misses something, people like you will consider anything they left out " not important" continue supporting sub-par products, thats all youll continue getting my friend.
Arm: You aren't actually reading what I write, are you? Typical knee-jerk response. Maybe you should read what I said again rather than responding to something I didn't say.
God... I can't wait until you go back to school and get off the message boards.
Maybe he was defending it because the other people were being ignorant fools?
For example. People complaaaaained their head off about the EU sending a small bill to Microsoft, claiming that they wern't being anti competitive etc and that the EU were wrong. Then when Apple and Psystar come around, they start complaining about Apple's monopoly on Apple products (Seriously, wtf).
LMLMYPHQ or whatever your name is: So the iPhone has the same price/contract as every other high end phone you can get through AT&T, and it's as cheap or cheaper than the price/contract from other providers like Verizon, but somehow the iPhone's is "awful"? Since your claim defies logic, common sense and facts, I'd like to see you try to justify it.
As far as basic capabilities found on "any other phone", you mean like 3rd party apps, GPS, 3G, syncing, bluetooth, wifi, 16GB of storage, a GOOD touchscreen interface (by the way, that is something that is NOT found on every other phone), an iPod (also something not found on any other phone... I'm starting to see a pattern), an OTA app store, a camera, a real mail app that can use multiple mail protocols, a real web browser that gets 100/100 on the Acid3 test, calendaring, scheduling, visual voicemail, etc. etc. etc.
Clearly the iPhone DOES have all the basic capabilities found on "any other phone" plus a bunch that aren't found on any other phone. So are you a moron, or just ignorant? It has to be one or the other.
"what ever your name is" ?
Whats wrong, Cant Copy Paste?
Why wouldn't I be able to copy and paste? You think I'm on an iPhone right now? Hahaha. You know my last phone was a Sony Ericsson, and it couldn't copy and paste either. Why aren't you complaining about that? Oh right, because you just hate Apple. But anyway, good job not responding to what I wrote, I'll take that as an admission of being wrong on your part.
"Whats wrong, Cant Copy Paste?"
Genius comment on so many levels.
Damn L.....I think you hit a nerve. I can see Zaks vein all the way over here.