Apple’s marketing is legendary. Remember the “1984” and “Think Different” campaigns, and the dancing iPod silhouettes?
This works, though, only if the product and technology are on time and actually good.
Apple now finds itself under scrutiny with its fumbled generative-AI launch. The company went on a marketing blitz last year to promote upcoming Apple Intelligence features.
Its big AI splash may have come a little too soon, the Better Business Bureau’s advertising watchdog says. The organization’s National Advertising Division said Tuesday that it recommended Apple tone down or tweak some of its marketing claims, especially around the timing of certain hyped-up features.
The main issue? A bold “Available Now” label splashed across the company’s Apple Intelligence webpage and iPhone 16 marketing materials. The division said it gave the impression that all the listed features, like priority notifications, Image Playground, Genmoji, Image Wand, and ChatGPT integration with Siri, were ready to go at the launch of the iPhone 16 in September.
In reality, Apple rolled out those tools gradually between October 2024 and March. And the big one — that Siri upgrade — has been delayed.
The National Advertising Division didn’t love the fine print, either. The group said Apple’s footnotes and small-print disclosures weren’t clear or close enough to the main claims to set the record straight.
While the features are now live, the division’s message was clear: Don’t say something’s “available now” unless it really is.
The review also took a look at Apple’s promises around next-gen Siri upgrades, including smarter on-screen awareness, personal context understanding, and cross-app actions, all of which were also listed under that same “Available Now” header.
Apple told the group those Siri features were delayed and updated its promotional materials to reflect the change. It pulled the “More Personal Siri” video, so the watchdog didn’t review the specific claims in that clip. The BBB is an independent nonprofit organization; participation in its National Advertising Division is voluntary.
“While we disagree with the NAD’s findings related to features that are available to users now, we appreciate the opportunity to work with them and will follow their recommendations,” Apple said in a statement to the organization. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Bottom line: Apple’s getting a gentle nudge to be more careful with how it markets cutting-edge features that aren’t quite ready for prime time. It’s a reminder that in the race to wow consumers, the underlying technology must live up to the hype.
