Apple iPhone ads pulled in UK for being "misleading"
By Jonathan Schlaffer
Leave it to the UK and its sensibilities to pull iPhone ads for being just a little misleading. Apple advertises the iPhone as a full Internet-capable device even though it lacks support for Java and Adobe Flash.
No matter how hard you try, some sites are just not going to work on the mobile version of Safari because it either has heavy Java use or requires Flash 9. Apple could introduce support for both in Firmware 2.1 but I’m not going to hold my breath.
Knowing the company it has found a way to “require” a hardware upgrade (aka a new phone) in order to support the above technologies.
The Sony Mylo 2 supports Flash Lite 3 (which is a stripped down version of Flash 
and the Nokia N800/N810/N810 Wimax all support the full version of Flash 9 with its Mozilla-based web browser. No word on if it works with Hulu.
No matter. The UK has decided that since the iPhone does not support JavaScript or Flash 9 it cannot be advertised as a “full” Internet access device. That being the case, some iPhone ads have been pulled in the UK.
The Advertising Standards Authority had the following to say about Apple’s ad,
Ad
A TV ad, for the iPhone, showed the phone in someone’s hand and a finger switching it on to reveal the menu page. The finger touched the weather icon showing the forecast for Cape Town and then navigated through a Heathrow Airport area map, a Safari icon, hotels and stock market webpage. The iPhone rang and the hand was shown answering it. During the ad, the voice-over said " 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 ended with on-screen text that stated "iPhone. Only on O2".Issue
Two viewers believed the claim that all parts of the internet were accessible was misleading because they understood that the iPhone did not support Flash or Java, both integral to many web pages.
I’m not going to defend Apple’s non-support of Java or Flash which is supported on other Internet Tablet devices but the iPhone is not really an Internet device. It is simply a device that is capable of accessing the Internet.
All of two people found the ad to be misleading. I’m not sure who is dumber in this case. The ASA which pulled the ad over two complaints or the fact that Apple continues to deny iPhone and iPod Touch users Flash and Java support, what’s the deal, Apple?
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