By Sarah Falson
SYDNEY: Retravision has voluntarily made a formal apology in the form of an advertisement in The Australian newspaper for advertising Microsoft Vista when it was under embargo.
“Retravision advertised the Vista product early, and there was an embargo on that product. We made it clear that they’d have to wait until 12:01 last night, which was a critical guideline,” said Microsoft Home Entertainment Division regional director Australia and New Zealand, David McLean, of the apology that appeared this morning.
McLean said that other companies had invested a lot of money and time into their Vista advertising campaigns, and it wasn’t fair for Retravision to advertise the software early.
“You can’t advertise a product that you can’t sell,” said McLean.
According to Dick Smith Powerhouse general manager, Alvin Ng, his retail business waited until the stores had closed last night to put up visual merchandise to advertise the Vista product which was on-sale after 12:01 this morning.