Could the advert for Mobinil’s Apple iPhone package, currently being shown on Showtime, be the same advert that’s been banned in the UK for giving a false impression about the speed of service?

Well, yes, just about. While there’s different localized versions of the advert for different countries and operators, the Mobinil ad mixes together the same elements with an Arabic voiceover - an iPhone is seen being used for a range of tasks including email, surfing the web, checking maps and taking calls, all in rapid succession.

UK advertising authorities said that the advert was misleading, and banned it from being shown in its present form, after 17 complaints that it made the iPhone’s 3G performance look much faster than is possible.

Given the quality of advertising in the Middle East, I don’t suppose that the ad will get banned here anytime soon, but it might be interesting to see if Mobinil’s new 3G network could outpace the Uk’s creaking legacy infrastructure.