Misleading advertising and embarrassment for Apple

Misleading adverts are a staple feature of the beauty industry, but the market for gadgets must run a close second. Now an Apple iPhone advert has been banned by the advertising standards watchdog for exaggerating the phone’s speed.

The Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints by 17 people who said the TV advert had misled them as to its speed. The advert repeatedly stated that the phone was “really fast” and showed news pages and the Google maps service taking just fractions of a second to appear. Apple UK said it was comparing the 3G model with its 2G predecessor and its claims were “relative not absolute”.

Apple did put small print on the screen: “Network performance will vary by location.” But the ASA said the advert was likely to lead viewers to believe that the device actually operated at or near to the speeds shown in the advert. Advertisers have to manage a tricky balance of hyping the performance of a product but stopping short of downright exaggeration. What are your favourite examples?