Apple's "Only on the iPhone" claim cleared by ASA

Android challenge thrown out

30 July 2009 11:46 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The Advertising Standards Authority has cleared an Apple ad that saw ten complaints for its "Only on the iPhone" applications boast.

The advert in question, that most TV-watching Brits will have seen at some point, was the iPhone TV ad that stated: "If you need to find a cab in a strange city, there's an app for that. Or figure out your share of the bill for a table of five, there's an app for that. Or fix a wobbly bookshelf, there's even an app for that. Yep there's an app for just about anything. Only on the iPhone".

The ten viewers that questioned whether the ad was misleading took the tack that the T-Mobile G1 Android phone offered a similar application store - Android Market - where similar apps could be found, therefore the "Only on the iPhone" claim was untrue.

Apple's defence was that "the App Store provided users with a unique experience unmatched by any other application market place, including the Android Market".

The ASA says Apple pointed out that its App Store offered (at the time) over 50,000 applications compared to the then 2100 on the Google-run Android platform.

The ASA says in a recent adjudication ruling: "Because Apple had shown there were far more applications available for the iPhone than the G1 phone, and user-experience of the iPhone and the app store was distinct from its competitor, we concluded the claim 'Only on the iPhone' was justified and not misleading".