New Delhi: An Apple iPhone XS advertisement promising consumers extremely sharp and beautiful photos, while being ambiguous about the requirement of additional hardware and software for achieving the depicted picture quality, has been found misleading by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
The council also found that the “biggest gaming app” endorsed by the Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli, was not substantiated with any verifiable comparative data or through an audited report or third-party validation.
“The advertiser did not submit any comparative data of their gaming app versus their close competitors to conclusively prove their market leadership claim. The claim is misleading by exaggeration,” it said.
The ASCI noted that the Apple iPhone XS advertisement was misleading by ambiguity and implication as the ad featuring beautiful shots of the environment—animals, insects, plants, and landscapes—would lead consumers to believe that the image quality would be feasible on the iPhone alone, whereas in reality the result would not be achievable without making additional purchases.
The ASCI pointed out that Tata Global Beverages’ Tetley Green Tea’s print advertisement claiming “9/10 users prefer Tetley Green Tea for an active life” was contrary to the video advertisement which used the word “recommend” for the same.
“The users were not provided with samples of other brand products to enable them to have a preference; the words ‘prefer’ and ‘recommend’ are misleading by implication. The use of the word ‘active life’ misleads one to think that the use of the product alone would be sufficient to achieve an active life,” it said.
Of the 231 print and TV advertisements investigated by the ASCI, as many as 132 were found misleading and violating the norms. Of these “misleading” advertisements, 69 belonged to the education sector, 41 to the healthcare sector, two to personal care, four to food and beverage sector, and 16 to other categories.
