By Ed Frauenheim, 29 March 2004 08:55
NEWS The Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Apple Computer discontinue comparative performance claims regarding its Power Mac G5 desktop.
Acting on a tip from Apple rival Dell, the council's National Advertising Division (NAD) "determined that the evidence provided by Apple did not provide a reasonable basis for its broad unqualified claims that its Power Mac G5 is 'the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer' and that it 'edged out the competition on integer.'"
In a statement Thursday, NAD also said it took issue with Apple's claim regarding the computer's 64-bit processor. The "advertiser's claim, 'the world's first 64-bit processor for personal computers,' could reasonably be interpreted to apply to workstations, in the context in which it was presented." This claim was unsupported by evidence, according to NAD. The organisation said that although the advertisement had run its course, it recommended that Apple "modify this claim to effectively limit it to personal computers."
According to NAD, Apple said in a statement that its ad campaign has already run its course and that it "will be mindful of NAD's views in its future advertising." The company was not immediately available for further comment on the issue.
Apple unveiled the Power Mac G5 last June.
A Dell representative said in an email: We "notified NAD because we felt there were some inaccuracies in Apple's advertisement and wanted to act on behalf of consumers in the marketplace who deserve accurate information on which to base their purchase decisions...Essentially, we felt that clarity in the marketplace benefits consumers, and NAD agreed."
Apple's G5 advertising had previously been criticized. In November, British TV regulators banned an Apple ad for the machine, saying its claim to the title "world's fastest personal computer" is not fully supported.
That decision followed doubts by analysts and others about the benchmark tests Apple used to justify the claims.
Ed Frauenheim writes for CNET News.com
Comments
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1. anonymous
Ok Apple hyped things up a bit. But Dell motivated by a desire to protect consumer interests? Ha ha. Yeah right. Dell achieved anything like the major innovations introduced by Apple over the years? Ha ha ha. Yeah right.
2. anonymous
Completly untrue what Apple has been claiming, I have been raving about this to my friends for a while now. Finally someone important did something about it. First off AMD was the first to have a consumer desktop 64 bit chip and I believe Intel had the first 64 bit chip or Sun microsystem. Second off, and this is the worst lie of all, AMD and Intel processors would destroy Apple in any application other then maybe photoshop.
3. anonymous
CRAPPLE didn't just "hype things up a bit".
CRAPLE lied through their teeth about their products and then continued to lie even more..
Great thing some government finally did something about the CRAPPLE disinformation, dirty tricks and propaganda machine.
4. anonymous
I've always hated apples advertising, thay mostly just slag off the competition and I find them incredibly partonising. Besides
reading the small print on the printed ad proved it was bogus anyway as it comparing it to Dell (hmmm) pc that was 18 mounts old at the time, hardly on the cutting edge.
5. anonymous
Tut tut. Such puerile, ignorant and illiterate comments from the wintel people. The G5 may or may not be the fastest desktop since there is actually no real benchmark test to prove it one way or the other. The clock speed of the CPU isn't the only factor involved. The data transfer rate between the processors is just as important and the fact is the Mac's is about twice as fast as the Xeon's in the independent tests I have seen.
6. anonymous
Handbags, ladies... look at the facts and leave your biased loyalties at the door.