PC World commercial falls foul of advertising standards

An advert for PC World showing a woman visiting a PC World store and asking an assistant for a laptop described as the latest model with a "connection to the internet wherever you are" has breached advertising codes.
Complainants believed the ad was misleading. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that 53 viewers believed wireless internet connection was only possible in locations within range of a connection point and that the claim referring to internet connection “wherever you are” was misleading.
While 13 viewers believed that, in addition to the laptop itself, additional equipment or software such as a wireless modem and router was needed before wireless internet access away from home was possible.
Upholding the complaints, the ASA considered that there was insufficient evidence to back up the strong, unqualified claim made in the ad.
"We considered viewers were likely to receive a misleading impression of the availability of wireless connectivity from the ad," a spokesperson for the ASA said.
PC World also confirmed that additional equipment, such as a wireless modem and router needed to be purchased separately, for wireless internet access from a laptop.
As the ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications), the ASA ruled that the ad "must not be shown again in that form".
(SP)