A consumer complaint lodged against Samsung's Web site advertising the Samsung Galaxy SII, has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The advertisement in question showed the features of the Galaxy SII and included the 'music hub' - a native music player said to allow users to “discover, preview, purchase and download track on the go”.
The complainant argued that the Samsung Galaxy SII advertisement was misleading, as it represented the 'music hub' as one of the features on the phone, while it is in fact not available in SA.
In response, Samsung argued it is expressly stated in the terms and conditions of use of the mobile site: “Samsung does not guarantee the continued availability of such content and services.”
According to the ASA ruling, when Samsung marketed the 'music hub' feature to South African consumers who were interested in the Galaxy SII, they created “a misleading expectation that the featured application is available to consumers.
“It is common sense to appreciate the fact that when consumers are in the market to purchase a new handset, one of the key factors they consider is the capabilities of the phone or its features,” said the ruling.
“Therefore, the promotion of the 'music hub' application for the Galaxy SII phone to local consumers, when it is not available in the country, constitutes misleading advertising.”
Samsung was ordered to withdraw the advert in its current format with immediate effect.
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