Microsoft ad pulled by ASA

Thanks bink for the heads up on this

The Advertising Standards Authority of SA (ASA) has ordered that a Microsoft ad implying that its software will bring about the extinction of the hacker is to be pulled for being "unsubstantiated and misleading".

An objection was lodged by freelance journalist Richard Clarke, in his personal capacity, who complained that the advert was untrue. He claimed Microsoft software is littered with vulnerabilities.

The advert depicts a dodo, a woolly mammoth, a sabre tooth tiger and a hacker. The caption claims that not everyone benefits from Microsoft software and that with it, a customer's data couldn't be safer even if it was kept in a safe. It was published in the November issues of ITWeb Brainstorm and Time Magazine.

"Microsoft's software is littered with vulnerabilities," Clarke says in his submission.

Microsoft was asked by the ASA to provide information, substantiated by an independent, credible expert, on the degree of security of its software in accordance with Code of Advertising Practices. Microsoft was also asked to defend the advert against Clarke's claim that the advert was misleading

News source: ITweb