iPhone ad banned over Flash and Java
Posted on 28th August 2008 in iPhone | 2 Comments »
Advertising Standards Authority of United Kingdom, the advertising watchdog for misleading consumers, has banned the recent TV ad for the new iPhone 3G. The internet capabilities of the smart phone are claimed to be over-hyped.
The ad says
You never know which part of the internet you’ll need … which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone
on which ASA received two complaints claiming it was misleading because the iPhone did not support Flash or Java, both integral to many web pages.
Apple excused themselves with a fact that Safari, the web browser the iPhone uses, was built to open internet standards which is true, it is based on the WebKit framework. As Flash and Java technology are not open source, compatibility with these technologies can not be ensured. Apple has referred to these technologies as “every third-party technology in the marketplace”. Nevertheless ASA ordered that the TV ad must not be broadcast again in the same form.
Flash Player is installed on over 850 million Internet-connected desktops and mobile devices making it one of the most popular technologies to provide rich media and Rich Media Applications online. The percentage of the computers having Flash Player approximates to 98%. Apple’s ignorance regarding it has been obvious since the first versions of iPhone.
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2 Responses
Seems like it was a narrow decision.
Clearcast said, in order to assess the claims, they saw a demonstration of the iPhone and in particular the internet functionality. They said a number of websites were chosen at random and they appeared to work as described in the ad. They said, on the basis of the demonstration and the advertiser’s assurances, they were content to approve the claims relating to access to the internet.
Two people complained about the ad which is why it was brought to the attention of the ASA.
ASA Adjudications
I thought their iphone sdk license prevent 3rd parties from developing any interpreter based app – java or flash? so these technologies are already ensured by rotten apple that they would not exist on the iphone unless apple wrote it themeselves? most evil, more evil than m$oft?