Motorola gets told off for Atrix claims

A LESSON is to be learned by all manufactures who claim to have a world first.

Google-owned handset maker Motorola has been slapped by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which has demanded that it drop its claim that its Atrix handset is the "world's most powerful smartphone".

Complaints received about Motorola's multi-million pound advertising campaign centred around the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S II handset has a more powerful processor.

Motorola was not to be beaten that easily and argued that the combined technical features of the Atrix made it the "most powerful". However, it had to admit that the Galaxy S II smartphone's processor is slightly faster.

Despite Motorola's protests, the ASA ruled that its ad breached BCAP Code rules for "misleading advertising, substantiation, exaggeration and comparisons" and it will not let the handset maker use the phrase "world's most powerful smartphone" in its adverts again.

Frankly, we think it's risky to use "world's first" or "world's most" in any marketing campaign, as you usually get proven wrong. Samsung, however, might want to pick up Motorola's phrase, which actually would be accurate for the Galaxy S II smartphone, for now. µ