The Whirlpool forums yesterday were host to a series of ads that, at first glance, appear to have originated from Telstra. The ads feature a number of slogans paired with the iPhone 5 brand, and are styled much in the same way as Telstra’s revamped marketing campaign. The telco today informed ZDNet Australia that the ads are elaborate fakes.
Whoever put them together went to a lot of trouble to make them seem authentic, with the images including dated filenames, accurate use of Telstra’s new colours and even printing guides. However, there are a number of branding errors that cast doubt over their origin.
Firstly, it’s unlikely Apple would approve of Steve Jobs’s name being used in any advertising (especially as he’s no longer head honcho). Secondly, Apple insists “iPhone” appears with a lowercase “i”, and never after “the”.
A number of the ads break these rules, and it’s unlikely Telstra would disregard Apple’s branding guidelines just for the sake of a single campaign.
True, these could have been mockups or drafts yet to be finalised or approved, which would account somewhat for these issues. But with Telstra officially denying their legitmacy, the point is moot.
Image: Whirlpool forums
‘Telstra’ iPhone 5, 4S ads surface [ZDNet Australia]