iPhone ad banned for 'all Internet' claim

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an ad for the iPhone that promised users access to "all parts of the Internet" on their Apple device.

The TV advert featured an individual flicking through holiday-related Web pages on an iPhone to a voiceover 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, not all Web sites can be seen in their entirety, the complaints said.

Apple, however, sees the advert 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 Web sites that users could visit and utilise. They said all the Web sites 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 advert in its current form.

Apple declined to comment on the ruling.