Believe me Steve, by the standards on which things are judged, it is misleading.
Here's the relevant stuff from the
ASA and it's very hard to see how, under those terms, the Apple commercial - if aired on UK TV - wouldn't be judged misleading.
What I don't know is whether the commercial has or will be aired over here. Apple may well be smart enough (or cautious enough after having been bitten in the arse a number of times) not to put it on UK TV.
SECTION 5: MISLEADING ADVERTISINGBackground:Television advertising can be a powerful medium for communicating advertising messages but is unsuited to providing consumers with detailed, permanent information about products and services. The rules in this Section are therefore designed (amongst other things) to ensure that advertising does not misrepresent the nature, benefits and limitations of advertised offers.
5.1 DEFINITION OF MISLEADING ADVERTISING
No advertisement may directly or by implication mislead about any material fact or characteristic of a product or service
Notes:
(1) See also 7.1 (Misleading advertising and children) for additional rules about advertising for products and services likely to be of interest to children.
(2) Advertising is likely to be considered misleading if, for example, it contains a false statement, description, illustration or claim about a material fact or characteristic. Material characteristics include price, availability and performance. Any ambiguity which might give a misleading impression must be avoided.
(3) Even if everything stated is literally true, an advertisement may still mislead if it conceals significant facts or creates a false impression of relevant aspects of the product or service.
(4) Scientific terms or jargon, statistics and other technical information should not be used to make claims appear to have a scientific basis that they do not possess. Equally, statistics of limited validity must not be presented in such a way as to mislead, for instance by implying that they are universally true.
(5) An advertisement may be misleading even if it does not directly lead to financial loss or a misguided purchasing decision. The ASA and BCAP may also regard an advertisement as misleading if, for example, it causes viewers to waste their time making enquiries, only to find that offers are unavailable or that there are important limitations. This could involve encouraging viewers to visit shops, or to make lengthy telephone calls (including freephone calls).
(6) When assessing whether an advertisement is misleading, the ASA and BCAP consider the overall impression likely to be conveyed to a reasonable viewer. They do not consider the intentions of the advertiser, nor simply whether the advertising meets legal or other regulatory requirements.
(7) In addition to its delegated powers under the Communications Act 2003, the ASA has a duty to enforce the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 (as amended).
An advertisement is misleading if:
(a) it is likely to deceive those who see it and
(b) as a result of that deception, is likely to affect consumers' economic behaviour or
© for the reasons given in (a) and (b), it injures or is likely to injure a competitor of the person whose interests the advertisement promotes.
