HP blots copybook over printer ad
Hewlett-Packard (HP) faces possible censure from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over advertisements in which it compared the quality of an original printed page with a ‘second-generation’ photocopy.

The company’s Mopy (multiple original printout) advertising campaign was launched on 16 April. It included 10 million original printed pages showing a photograph of model Michelle Behennah inserted into newspapers and magazines throughout Europe, alongside 10 million photocopies of the same page.

But HP’s representation of the photocopy has attracted criticism. Mark Nadel, head of the Business Equipment Association, which tests photocopiers, faxes and printers, said: ‘We test photocopiers and I’ve never seen a photocopy as bad as the one in the campaign.’

Bertram Wiestler, HP’s European programme manager for the Mopy campaign, admitted the photocopy was not typical. ‘I agree that you don’t normally see that quality in a photocopy. It’s not representative of copier output. The message is that copier quality is always worse,’ he said.

The ASA confirmed it had received ‘a number of complaints’ concerning the advertisement.

COMPUTING STAFF
From the 30 May edition of Computing