Ad watchdog puts the boot in

It’s been another busy month for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which has had to adjudicate in more than a dozen complaints concerning the computer and telecoms industry. Lancashire-based Granville Technology group – trading as Time Computer Systems Ltd – had its wrists slapped for misleading consumers in the national press about the interest-free credit options on one of its Time machines. And Springboard Internet Services Ltd in London also received a ticking off for suggesting that net users could get unlimited access to LineOne for the measly price of £4.95 in one of its mailshots. Elsewhere, the advertising watchdog decided not to uphold a complaint about a newspaper ad by the computer rental company MicroRent plc which was accused of being anti Semitic. Under the headline TAKE A LOOK – at the real cost of PC ownership, the ad showed a picture of four people with long noses wearing thick glasses. But the ASA said that they did not believe the image portrayed caricatures implying Jewish stereotypes and ruled that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence. However, The Register thinks Mr Magoo-lookalikes would have a pretty strong case.®