Mike Temporale
01-19-2006, 07:15 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/18/t_mobile_asa/' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/18/t_mobile_asa/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"T-Mobile UK has pulled an ad aimed at business users who want to stay connected on the move because it "condoned dangerous driving". The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 13 complaints from people concerned that the ad - which featured a woman driving a car with her glove box crammed full of office equipment - was "irresponsible". Aongside the image of the woman at the wheel of a car, the accompanying blurb said: "Work where you work best. Business data solutions from T-Mobile puts your business wherever you are. BlackBerry, mobile broadband access and HotSpots mean the internet and email are always with you." Defending the ad, T-Mobile argued that the image did not show any of the mobile gizmos being used while driving. Nor did the ad suggest that the products should be used while driving, it said."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/tmo.gif" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/><br /><br />I can understand the concern and I don't recommend driving while under the influence of a mobile device. However, I don't think that a picture of someone driving with one hand on the wheel means that you are endorsing dangerous driving. There are a lot of commercials that show people driving with one hand, and most of them are at the drive through window. I would argue that this is far worse. Regardless, T-Mobile did the right thing by pulling the ad. Hopefully, the ASA will start paying attention to the fast food industry too, because they have been endorsing this type of thing for a long time!