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Apple G5 Ads Banned In UK
Justen writes "The Independent Television Commission has quietly banned Apple from airing an advertisement (in QuickTime here) for the Power Mac G5 in the UK. The Committee says that, prior to the initial broadcast of the ad, it was critical of the assertion that the Power Mac G5 is "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer." However, Apple supplied what was asserted to be "fair and even" data, based partially on SPEC benchmarks, which "substantiated" Apple's claims and "satisfied" the concerns of their "IT expert." However, the Committee says some "viewers complained that the advertising was misleading," and thus, after an investigation, it reversed its original decision. The Committee has now decided that the ad "should not be re-shown in its current form." Conspiracy theorists take note, Apple's sales in the UK are up 36%, so far, this year."
Conspiracy theorists take note, Apple's sales in the UK are up 36%, so far, this year.
.. sure, but I'll also note that The site www.itc.org.uk is running Microsoft-IIS/4.0 on NT4/Windows 98. It's a ploy by Microsoft to bring that 36% number 'under control'..
..where's my tin foil hat?
Trolling is a art,
Conspiracy theorists take note, Apple's sales in the UK are up 36%, so far, this year.
Which conspiracy theory should I be concerned with? The theory that the ITC is out to thwart Apple or the conspiracy between Apple and ITC to sell more Macs?
Glad to see the UK take a stand for integrity in advertising.
"Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
- Deep Thought
While some Apple fans may consider this censorship, personally I applaud the enforcement of standards in advertising.
If standards were forced for truth-in-advertising in the U.S., we'd not only never hear about the G5 being the fastest computer, we'd also not hear about how much we can do for so little from Microsoft. We'd also stop having the stupid claims in oversized truck and SUV ads, diet pills, etc.
Linux - because it doesn't leave that Steve Ballmer aftertaste.
It's an Apple commercial hosted on Apple's site. Ehh perhaps there's a new definition of 'irony' I haven't been informed of yet.
Paul Lenhart writes words!
I remember learning on a tour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory that in the UK, one cannot advertise anything that cannot be _PROVEN_. IIRC, Ben and Jerry's had to rename one of their flavors from something like "World's Best Ice Cream" to something else.
This seems like an instance of _that_.
PLEASE, no one make any "lickable" puns.
-A
Mac's are also not faster than light.
Must buy a G5. Must have Most Powerful Personal Computer (TM). Must believe advertising. They wouldn't lie to me.
By the time the ad was out, it was no longer the most powerful computer.
Gator/Claria is Spyware.
I don't think any particular computer can be considered "the fastest in the world." Each architecture is designed such that one will always outshine the other in a specific set of functions. Apple may be faster in benchmark X, while Intel is faster in benchmark Y, while AMD is faster in benchmark Z, etc. etc. Apple does have some validity to their claim, but so would Intel and AMD if they were to announce themselves as the fastest in the world to.
That's after the fact though. Companies will always proclaim their products as "the best, the fastest, the strongest." It's a fact of marketing- what company would say "Our products are mediocre, behind X and Y" and expect decent sales?
I take diet pills so I can fit into my RED DRESS and be on TELEVISION!!!!
Yeah, the Pentium IVs that outperform the G5s do so in such an impersonal way.
Sure about that? If so, click here.
They pulled the ad because EIGHT viewers complained? That's a little more responsive than over here in the US. (I'm not sure that's a good thing.)
One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
I have that G5 and it did indeed blow me out the side of my house.
I wonder how long till they ban IBM's Linux Ad once they discover that Linux is not an 8-year-old boy?
But wait, there is more. I have installed Windows2003 on one of my computers, and contrary to Microsoft's TV ads, it didn't save me 5 cents per business transaction. I was hoping to make a killing on that.
In UK, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is simply known as I Swear It's Not Butter!
It's an Apple commercial hosted on Apple's site
He must be listening to Allanis Morrisette again.
Don't ya think?
Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
In Norway we have similar rules: You cannot air commercial claiming something that might be false.
That means you cannot say your price is cheaper or faster or whatevre unless we are talking about to totally identical products. We are not here. The processor in the mac is totally different from a processor from AMD, Intel, Sun, etc. I can guarantee that if you compare a totally specialized processor for only one single operation, then that processor might be faster than the G5 processor in that particular field.
It will then be false to say the processor used in the G5 is faster, even though the other only was faster on lets say integar calculations...
one cannot advertise anything that cannot be _PROVEN_
You can if it is "obvious" that it isn't meant to be taken seriously.
Someone (possibly even CAMRA was it?? - must have been a very off day) once complained about the Heineken ads, on the grounds that it was not true that it "refreshed" some of "the parts other beers cannot reach" as illustrated on the advertisements.
The complaint was thrown out as being daft, because it was perfectly clear that you weren't supposed to believe the advertisements in the first place.
Maybe you should take a minute and actually look at what _you_ are comparing. The scores quoted by Apple for the Intel machines explicitly stated that GCC was used as the compiler to remove the compiler as a variable. The published scores on SPEC's website do not. You are comparing cows to telephone poles.
Now, comparing G5 results with GCC to x86 results with GCC is pretty fair when you are comparing the hardware only, not the software. That is what they claimed to be showing.
kc8apf
Adverts should be held to certain degrees of honesty and integrity. In the US, you can (almost) say what you like, and get away with it. It's very rare that anyone's disciplined in any way, shape or form for misleading or deceptive practices, even when it's blatantly obvious fraud of the consumer is intended.
In England, a few hundred complaints is usually enough to spark an ITC investigation into wrongful advertising. However, they're slow, beaurocratic, and often act in ways which gives the product and the misleading claims far more publicity.
Nonetheless, they do some good. When a rogue advert is found and stopped, it does help bring a touch of reality to the industry. People tend to be a bit more skeptical, a bit more suspicious of claims that seem too good to be true. Which is good! Because it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Here is one of those instances that I'd like each country to borrow a bit from the other. I'd like to see more free speech protection in the UK, but I'd also like to see commercial speech better regulated in the US.
(Commercial speech should not have the same protections as other forms of speech. It should be protected, especially where it is true, but it shouldn't be absolved of all responsibility - it has a lot more weight and power than just some person you happen to meet, and that weight and power needs to be accompanied by responsibility.)
Mindless Note: I honestly believe that the UK and the US sit on different halves of understanding how to make a civilization that can respect itself and others, while remaining strong, free and a damn good place to be. I don't pretend to know how to fit those halves together, or what bits of which are the good bits. All I know is that both countries achieve a degree of happiness in areas that the other can't, that both have strengths the other doesn't, and that on the level of individuals, the wisest are the ones who learn from others.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
World's fastest processor? Now that apple no longer has the worlds god damned slowest processor, its no wonder their sales are picking up. I have a slide rule that can compute faster than my G4...
In iTunes on my dual-G5 I can stop the M.C. Hammer track, "U Can't Touch This" in less than a 10th of second.
--- What?
Strait man? Is that a man in a straight jacket? Some guy who monitors ship traffic in the Strait Of Gibraltar? Mark Knopfler?
Lesson 1, Grasshopper: if you're going to troll, at least spell it correctly.
--- Ban humanity.
http://www.asa.org.uk/
SUBSTANTIATION
3.2 If there is a significant division of informed opinion about any claims made in a marketing communication they should not be portrayed as generally agreed.
HONESTY
6.1 Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
TRUTHFULNESS
7.1 No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.
COMPARISONS WITH IDENTIFIED COMPETITORS AND/OR THEIR PRODUCTS
18.1 Comparative claims are permitted in the interests of vigorous competition and public information. They should neither mislead nor be likely to mislead.
18.2 They should compare products meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose.
18.3 They should objectively compare one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative features of those products, which may include price.
No reason why you couldn't apply these rules to microsoft or intel adverts and get them pulled. They are normally more careful though.
...to mark an entire thread 'redundant'?
"Anyone that has ever gotten an idea based on any of my work and done something better with it-good for you."--J.Carmack
The next time you watch TV ads, take note of the wording of their claims. It's usually something very vague, or followed by small print / fast talking disclaimer. People have gotten used to this.
Apple, on the other hand, blatently lied, saying their new G5 was "the worlds fastest, most powerful personal computer". They didn't say it was faster at a certain task, nor did they even mention it requires a unique OS and unique software. To 90% of the population, a Personal Computer is an x86 box running MS Windows.
Apple has made huge lies in their ads for years. They were finally caught. All I can say is "ITS ABOUT TIME!".
The Dell Intern ads may be annoying as all hell, but at least they're honest.
OK, if it was decided that the G5 ad couldn't be shown, when are they going to get around to banning the STUPID Centrino ad they're showing in the UK at the moment? It shows a mountaineer halfway up Mt Everest talking to his kids using his wireless-enabled Centrino laptop. I don't think anyone has installed a WiFi hotspot up Everest, so I can't see it's entirely representative of the technology.
:)
Yeah, OK, it says "service depends on availability of WiFi hotspots" in small letters at the bottom of the screen, but come on - the implication of the main ad is just ridiculous! Especially for the 99% of people who have no idea what it's all about.
It's a bit like the P3 (I think) advert that claimed that a new processor would speed up your downloads - that one got pulled fairly quick
-- "There's no explaining the things that might happen; there's now a new home for technology in fashion."
"Tired of viruses, ugly looking icons, a confusing line of operating systems? Want to have the power of BSD in a stylish design? Hate Windows and are not so sure yet about Linux? Well, then buy Mac."
I'm not trolling with my love for Apple here. Instead, just pointing out some ways for Apple to go about being a larger thorn without having to argue their point. Novell has been known for their outspoken attitude at times, so perhaps it's not so far fetched to imagine a Novell ad in the near future promoting Linux in a similar vein?
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
It's not the number of complaints that's important, it's the nature of the complaint. One complaint would have been sufficient. It's not a popularity contest. As a silly and extreme example, if one person goes into a police station and accuses you of being a murderer the police will investigate. They won't wait until they get 100 complaints about you killing people. If you do something wrong it's still wrong regardless of how many people complain.
Suck figs.
... but get a few mates with their G5's together and it bloody well is the fastest personal computer.
This sig has been deprecated.
In the US, we have a term called 'puffery', which refers to advertising that is clearly hyperbole, and is so outrageous that the average man-on-the-street (not your gullible aunt) would not believe it. Puffery is perfectly legal, which is why you can freely advertise "greatest fries in the world!"
However, to claim "best testing fries", they have to have a disclaimer - Burger King has fine print saying "based on independent taste tests", McDonald's has fine print saying "based on sales". Both can therefore claim 'best-tasting fries' without having to measure 'taste'.
Claiming a computer will blow you through the wall of your house is clearly puffery (and I'm wondering what the computer blows you with), but 'fastest personal computer' can be tested.
The question here is how unbiased that test was - both Apple's and ITC's.
-T
Apples claim:
"the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer"
Assessment:
"the G5 was generally as fast as the best Intel-based workstations currently available"
Apple never claimed to have the fastest workstations instead the fastest personal computer. The only way they were able to demonstrate that Apple was misleading was by using a different class of computer (which cost much more).
Microsoft: reinventing the square wheel
Oh wait. You mean I am supposed to use my judgement and work out what bits are the truth and what bits are advertsing hyperbole.
Silly me! I though every part of every ad on TV was literal truth.
Apparently extreme truth in advertising is necessary to not confuse the English mind. The ad clearly states "The worlds fastest, most powerful, personal computer."
Where the hell did you get the idea that "big iron boxes like Crays and IBM" are personal computers?
In the US, superlatives are OK, as by some measure something can be the most, best, or greatest. The problem is when some product is advertised with comparatives. A product can be the best, but just better requires irrefutable proof.
They said fastest and most powerful, and by the SPEC benches they submitted, it is. They didn't say the G5 is faster than a Dell dual Xeon 3.0 running XP or a HP Pavilario running Red Hat because this type of apples to oranges comparison would require specific results and would throw off the simplicity of the advertisement.
Anyone who takes the claims of a twelve word advertisement as gospel is a retarded idiot who shouldn't be allowed to buy anything more expensive than a pack of bubble gum. If this is the situation in England, then I truly feel sorry for the few intelligent people who are trapped there and have to be protected by this type of "truth in advertising" laws.
-- Len
Apple may have had their ads pulled...but look at all the free media advertizing the story generated ;-)
-psy
Close! The way to compart the hardware is to use the compiler recommended by the Manufacturer for each product. Intel, for performance, would reccomend their own compiler while IBM, who contributed the G5 code generator to the GCC project, would recommend theirs (in this case, GCC.)
Using "GCC" for both isn't fair because the code generators and optimizers are completely different. The only fair thing is to use what the Manufacturer suggests for optimum performance.
Apple's initial benchmarks were weird, too, because they compared a machine that would not ship for FOUR months (and I'm being generous here) to a 6-month old DELL unit. Fair would be to ask Dell for a sample of a machine to be released next quarter and test against that.
As it is, the P4, even crippled with HT turned off, BEAT the G5 with its faster bus in all the integer tests. By Apple's own admission.
Best Buy can have you arrested
Slashdot might be banned, afer all it claims to contain "Stuff that matters" I await my -5 Mod punishment.
Single processor Opteron systems with AGP graphics, plain old PCI slots and ATA hard drives were out months before Apple even announced they had "the world's first 64-bit personal computer".
Calling a dual-processor computer with a PCI-X bus a "personal computer" and a single-processor system with a PCI bus a "workstation"?
The original poster is right, Apple's ads are incorrect and misleading. That being said, so are the ads of just about every other company out there.
The committee also noted that the Apple advertisement is double plus ungood. In an unrelated note, UK Mac User smashed the committee's chanting jumbotron in an act of hammer tossing vandalism.
Last year the fastest cheapest processor we could find for our numerical simulation work was an Intel Gateway 3GHz, which cost about $2500, and has been wildly successful in attracting users away from older Sun workstations, around which it runs rings and Linux.
This year, we will upgrade to a dual processor system, with an eye toward eventual clustering of larger numbers of them. In comparing dual Xeons with dual G5s, we find that the test numbers are a tossup (Macworld reports PCs are faster; while PCmag resports Macs are a bit faster, which they call "about even"). One thing that isn't much discussed is the big jump in bus speed for the G5, which approaches 1GHz, compared with a typical 400MHz for Intel systems. This should be a boon to I/O intensive jobs.
Surprisingly, the deciding factor may be price: we get bids of about $4k for a dual Xeon system that is equipped comparably with a dual G5 that bids at $3k. So if the top Macs aren't definitively faster, they are at least certifiably cheaper! Who knew?
But Apple would clearly prefer to be fastest rather than cheapest, and hence their advertising approach stresses speed for the money rather than money for the speed. One person's miles per gallon is another's liters per 100km...
This continuing competition is clearly a win-win situation for consumers. May it continue...
ThosEM
This isn't a first for Apple in the UK. When they first used the PowerPC they advertised it as the first RISC based home computer. That might have been true in the US, but in the UK the ARM based Acorn Archimedes had already been out for a while, so they were forced to pull that ad.
Changes of that happening here in the US are next to nil, as we cling to the shibboleth of deregulation even when it brings us crisis after crisis in energy, health, stocks, banking, industry, etc. If your Blair keeps studying his lessons well, you can have our troubles, too.