Microsoft escaped the wrath of the UK advertising watchdog (Advertising Standards Authority) after complaints that a TV ad for Windows 7 which showed off the TV features of Windows 7 were misleading.
If you remember the advert featured Windows Media Center and had the characters saying “suddenly with Windows 7, you can watch and record your favourite TV shows right on your PC”. Well apparently 8 people (don’t they have better things to be doing!) complained that using the word “suddenly” implied that TV on the PC was a new feature , present only in Windows 7 and that other operating systems had TV features before Windows 7, to which according to PC Pro Microsoft said:
“Windows 7 was the only broadly available full-package operating system that included support for both the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial), on which Freeview is broadcast, and DVB-S (Digital Video Broadcasting Satellite) standards built into the core operating system, without any requirement to upgrade or upload third-party software”.
(They could have also pointed out support for Freeview HD if they had got the guide data sorted)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) agreed with Microsoft but Microsoft said they had no plans to run the advert again. I remember seeing the adverts and wishing they had highlighted Media Center’s features a bit more.
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Microsoft escaped the wrath of the UK advertising watchdog (Advertising Standards Authority) after complaints that a TV ad for Windows 7 which showed off the TV features of Windows 7 were misleading.