Motorola's Defy advert is banned by the ASA

US PHONE MAKER Motorola's advert for its Defy smartphone has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for containing misleading claims.

The manufacturer said in ads for the Defy that the device was "pool party proof", "dance floor proof" and "life proof".

It also said the phone was "water resistant scratch resistant dust proof" in one television advert. Meanwhile, another showed the device falling to the floor in a nightclub without damage.

Three customers had complained after their screens allegedly cracked when they accidentally dropped their phones.

The ASA ruled that the adverts had suggested that the Defy would not be damaged if dropped, so it upheld the complaints, telling Motorola that it shouldn't exaggerate its products' performance.

The ASA said, "Because we had not seen evidence that dropping the DEFY from the height shown in the ads would not damage the phone, we concluded that the ads misleadingly exaggerated the performance of the product."

It ruled, "The ads must not be broadcast again in their current form. We told Motorola to ensure future ads did not misleadingly exaggerate the performance of products." µ