Nokia apologizes for faked Lumia ad

Finnish phone maker Nokia was forced to issue an apology this week, after a tech site caught on that some of its promotional materials for its new "PureView" imaging technology were faked.

 

Tech site The Verge said the opening segment of one ad showed a young man and woman riding bikes, to show the capabilities of Nokia's optical image stabilization (OIS).

 

"However, we noticed a reflection that revealed the footage wasn't shot on a Lumia 920, but a regular camera inside a white van," it said.

 

It said Nokia admitted the slip-up to The Verge, before publishing a full public apology on its blog, and posting a new video on its YouTube channel featuring actual footage using the PureView technology.

 

Nokia's Heidi Lemmetyinen published the apology on the phone maker's blog, titled "An apology is due."

 

"(W)e produced a video that simulates what we will be able to deliver with OIS. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we should have posted a disclaimer stating this was a representation of OIS only. This was not shot with a Lumia 920. At least, not yet. We apologize for the confusion we created," Lemmetyinen said.

 

Lemmetyinen also posted on the blog the video shot using a Lumia 920, along with one using a smartphone without OIS, adding, "The difference is apparent."

 

Rigged shots

 

A separate article said the reflection in the window of the trailer in the background of the demo video was that of "a big white van with a lighting rig and a cameraman standing in the doorway — with what appears to be a large camera rig."

 

"Whatever he's holding, we can reasonably agree it's not a Lumia 920," it said.

 

The Next Web, meanwhile, said this shows that "if you are going to lie, it’s probably best to not get caught by showing the world how you executed the ruse."

 

"Shame on Nokia for this," it added.

 

Nokia was quick to release a new video in place of the old ad:

 

 

 — TJD, GMA News