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."

Comments

Conspiracy? Yes.

[grub]

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?

Re:Conspiracy? Yes.

[vslashg]

So, seven people have replied to you now, saying that Crays and IBMs aren't "personal computers".

Now, see, I'm above that. Adding an eighth such statement would only serve to increase the clutter and confusion. It's become accepted that we /.ers don't read the articles, but I don't want to shatter the illusion that we actually read each other's comments.

So, just letting you know that, uhm, I'm not going to do that. You're welcome.

Censorship or standards?

[Cyphertube]

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.

Re:Censorship or standards?

[CoreDump]

Yeah, I got Windows XP after I saw the ads on TV. Imagine my dissapointment when I found it it wouldn't actually allow me to fly around. :(

UK Advertising laws are different.

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:UK Advertising laws are different.

[Rude Turnip]

If you've ever tasted Budweiser, you'd claim it to be more like the "Intern Under the President's Desk" of beers.

I can say

[iomud]

I have that G5 and it did indeed blow me out the side of my house.

Wow. 8 whole viewers complained!

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

The commercal is correctly blocked!

[kandresen]

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...

Re:Which conspiracy?

[CatOne]

Blatantly false? Hardly.

It's pretty common knowledge that benchmark results depend in large part on who runs them. Apple ran some tests (carefully selected, no doubt) which did show the G5 was superior to everything on those tests. I'm not surprised, it's a VERY fast computer.

But sure, if you used a different compiler on the PC, or if you ran a different set of tests, the PC could well be faster on those tests.

Does that mean that Apple's claims are blatantly false and misleading? I don't really think so. It's a marketing spin on something that's true in some (but not all) cases.

Let's start the list.

[bill_mcgonigle]

Dear ITC, please ban ads from the following companies for over-the-top claims:

1. BMW - "The Ultimate Driving Machine". Yeah, says who? I happen to like the Lexus better. I haven't seen evidence from any independent rating agencies to prove this.
   
2. UPS - "Moving at the speed of bussiness". I have a copy of my physics text in front of me, and the speed of business is not a well-known constant. I haven't seen any independent ratings studying the speed of business and whether UPS can actually keep up.
   
3. Guiness - "Guiness is good for you". Right then, next.
   
4. Coca Cola - "Coke is it" What is it and how do we really know that Coke is it? Again, independent review is needed to see what 'it' really is, and whether, in fact, Coke is it or not it.
   
5. Burger King - "We do it your way". No they don't. My way is devoid of entrails, non-wilted lettuce, and with a proper roll that is very much not like a sponge, so Burger King is misrepresenting 'my way'. They do it one of their ways, but not at all my way.
   
6. British Airways - "The worlds favorite airline". Right, everyone in the world just loves British Air, especially for the cuisine. That's why Lufthansa gets such a bad rap.
   
7. Acura - "The True Definition of Luxury. Yours." I've never once spoken with anybody at Acura, and I don't much know that I've ever reflected on the true definition of luxury, so malarky.
   
8. Sun Microsystems - "We're the . in .com". They're not, really. Noone is. It's a bloody ASCII character, not a company. How pretentious.
   
9. Qwest - "Ride the light". Light has no mass. It cannot be ridden.
   
10. Budweiser - "The king of beers". Right. In fact, please ban the sale of Budweiser itself, not just the ads.
    
11. Panasonic - "Just slightly ahead of our time" A company bloody claiming to engage in time travel! Einstein would have a coronary.
    
12. Slashdot - "Stuff that matters". Ha!
    

Public safety comes first

[wilko11]

Surely the G5 itself should be banned for public safety. Any computer that can blow you through the walls of your house and into a tree should not be allowed!

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.

Will Slashdot be banned in the UK

[Prince Vegeta SSJ4]

Slashdot might be banned, afer all it claims to contain "Stuff that matters" I await my -5 Mod punishment.