Was Motorola Misleading In Their Ad Comparing Apple’s Maps Against Google Maps?
Some iFans are up in arms today after a misleading Motorola ad made the rounds across various social networks and even here on Phandroid a few days ago. Taking advantage of Apple’s recent bad press in regard to the “inaccuracy” of iOS 6 Maps (we’ve had some fun with that too), Motorola seized the opportunity to advertise the tried and true Google Maps app found on their all new Motorola Droid Razr M.
In the ad, they show the iPhone 5 finding the wrong address for Motorola’s fictional address, side-by-side with the Droid Razr M which showed the correct result thanks to GMaps. So, what’s everyone so bent out of shape about? Well, besides the fact that the address used in the ad is essentially made up (it supposedly doesn’t exist), performing a maps search on the iOS 6 actually pulls up the same location as Google’s Maps. Shady? Possibly. Deceptive? A little. Here’s the results provided by a friend of mine with an iPhone 5 when compared to the results found on my Galaxy Nexus.
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a manufacturer intentionally misrepresent info to place a better light on their competing handset. Samsung featured a similar ad not too long ago with some slightly misleading bullet points comparing features in the iPhone 5 with those in the Galaxy S3.
Needless to say, Apple fanboys are upset over the ad, and while their anger could be seen as “justified,” many made the mistake of placing direct blame Google for the ad (who owns Motorola Mobility) even though the Moto and more so the ad agency who was used to commission the ad operated without any approval or knowledge from Google. Google has bigger fish to fry, concocting driverless cars, and virtual reality goggles.
I guess the real question we should be asking is whether or not we’ve ever seen an ad 100% truthfully and objectively present facts when advertising a product against a competitors. But then again, we’d probably see a lot less ads, now wouldn’t we?
Thanks, Jack for the image!
[Apple Insider – Might wanna stay away from the comments section]