Don’t believe Apple’s ads. They are not intended to be statements of fact, merely entertaining tales of iPhone 3Gs performing twice as their predecessors. Or so Apple claims.
If you’re not up to speed on this story, we’re talking about William Gillis, a unhappy iPhone customer who has filed a lawsuit over claims by Apple in their ad’s that the iPhone 3G was “twice as fast for half the price”.
Wired report that Apple have come back with a rebuttal that essentially claims that,
1. They’re not lying, and
2. You’re not supposed to believe what you see in ads anyway. And if you do, you’re not a “reasonable person”.
As worded by Apple:
“Plaintiff’s claims, and those of the purported class, are barred by the fact that the alleged deceptive statements were such that no reasonable person in Plaintiff’s position could have reasonably relied on or misunderstood Apple’s statements as claims of fact,”
Despite Apple’s claims that their ad’s are works of fiction, Gillis’ lawyer claims their case has “teeth and legs to it” and they’re fighting it to the end.
Apples response to the lawsuit is slightly contradictory to what the ASA ruled about the adverts here in the UK. They have recently decided that Apple’s claims about the speed of the iPhone in ad’s are likely to mislead and so the ad’s were pulled.
These reports come just after the Simpsons release an episode with a very tongue in cheek take on (m)Apple. Is Apple losing a hold on its holy, do-no-wrong image?
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