I know this is lazy blogging, but I've just had my weekly comedy e-mail from the Advertising Standards Authority, and frankly things don't get any better. Hot on the heels of the people a fortnight ago who found enough time in their lives to question whether you can fit more than three apples into a carton of apple juice, today we have this top quality complaint which the ASA felt was worth investigating and writing up in their weekly newsletter...

COMPLAINT:
An ad for Dell Computers showed a man looking at a magazine ad for their products. He dropped the magazine and another man picked it up, looked at it and said "Dell, you can’t buy them in the shops. Just give them a call or go online".

Three viewers objected that the ad misleadingly implied you could only buy Dell products from their website or over the phone when they believed they could be bought in high street stores.

ADJUDICATION: Complaints not upheld.
Dell sold directly from the factory to the customer and did not have any shops or contracts with shops to sell their products. Because new Dell products were available only from their website and telephone sales line, we concluded the ad was not misleading.

I'm sorry, but don't people bother checking their facts before sitting down and writing to the ASA??? I love a frivolous complaint as much as the next man, but frankly if this was a law enforcement matter, those three people would be charged with wasting police time, and locked up. Possibly in a psychiatric unit.

But hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I'm off to complain that 'Everything's a Pound' doesn't sell anything under two quid.