Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

A television advert for the Apple Power Mac G5 has been banned as misleading by the UK's Independent Television Commission (ITC) following complaints by eight viewers. The advert claimed that Apple's G5 was "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer".

The advert, which featured an Apple user being hurled through the walls of his house by the power of the G5, was initially approved by the British Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC). However, the television standards watchdog, the ITC, reviewed the advert following complaints by viewers.

The ad was misleading, said the ITC, as the claim that the G5 represented "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer", was based on limited tests on specially configured computers.

According to a report on the ITC's web site, the complaints, and Apple's response, were referred to an independent IT expert from the BACC. The expert found that the claim was not supported by its independent reviews and that at best, "the G5 was generally as fast as the best Intel-based workstations currently available".

As a result, the ITC found that there was insufficient evidence to support Apple's claims. The advert was held to be misleading and the ITC directed that it should not be shown again in the UK in its original format.

The ITC's report is available here

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