For a third time, Huawei is busted using stock DSLR photos to advertise their phone camera

March 12, 2019 by Dunja Djudjic 28 Comments

Huawei was busted two times before for passing off DSLR photos as their smartphone camera images. Well, it has happened again. To show off camera capabilities of the latest P30 phone, Huawei used stock photos, as well as a photo from someone’s portfolio. Needless to say – all of them were taken with a DSLR.

The Huawei P30 phone should be launched soon, featuring four cameras, a periscope, and 7x zoom. In order to increase the hype, the company recently published a few photos as part of a teaser campaign. They were published on Huawei’s official Weibo account, and some outlets were fast to discover that none of the photos were taken with the P30. Not even with a smartphone.

GadgetMatch notes that some promo images looked “simply too good to be true.” As it turned out – they were. After a simple reverse image search, it turned out that the volcano image was taken by Tom Pfeiffer and it’s available for purchase via Getty Images.

Embed from Getty Images

Another image was taken by photographer Jake Olson, depicting a kid and three ducklings playing. According to GSM Arena, one of their readers spotted this photo in Olson’s portfolio, and it was taken in 2015.

As I mentioned this isn’t the first time Huawei got busted for using DSLR images to promote a smartphone camera. It first happened in 2016, when the company used a $4,500 Canon kit to take Huawei P9 sample images. Then in 2018, Huawei used a DSLR again in the ad for the Nova 3 smartphone. But hey, back then they at least hired someone to take the photos. This time they didn’t bother, they just licensed a few images taken a few years ago.

Sadly, Huawei isn’t the only company passing off DSLR photos for smartphone camera samples. Samsung was caught doing it twice (one of those times they used my image; that felt pretty weird when I discovered it). I firmly believe that other companies do it too, they just haven’t got busted yet. But Huawei has set the record: they’ve done it three times so far (at least that we know). Who knows, maybe they thought that third time’s a charm and that they’ll manage to pull it off without anyone noticing. But even if they did – it’s still false advertising.

[via The Verge]

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John Wojciechowski

Only proves time and time again that phone photos will never compete with true cameras. Phone cameras are only good for quick snapshots. I laugh at people on expensive vacations and using their phones to record mediocre photos of their trips. Whenever someone pulls out their phone to show me their vacation or event photos, I tell them, ‘Don’t bother.’
- Joe O’Connell
  
  John Wojciechowski I’d laugh at your insecurities, but that’d be mean (kind of like your pompous comment.)
- Patti Jacks
  
  John Wojciechowski some of those people on expensive vacations can no longer hold dslr cameras. I have RA and the weight of my dslr causes me a lot of pain, so for the most part I use my phone now.
- John Wojciechowski
  
  Patti Jacks, there are some really nice point and shoot cameras that take much better photos than the phone cameras. They are small, lightweight and have better image sensors. You can carry them in a fanny pack. You can download them to the computer and use decent photo editing software. I’ve done it. I do carry a DSLR and lenses. I’m getting up there in years and it’s getting hard to carry equipment around. I know what you mean. But I will use much better equipment to save those moments and keep my phone in my pocket where it belongs.
- Catalin Danciu
  
  or follow Huawei example and find online some great photos from your vacation location and post it on your social media acount 😀
- Bhavin Shah
  
  John Wojciechowski … and most of those people used to take shitty photos using an expensive DSLR as well so ‘Doesn’t matter’ 😁
- John Wojciechowski
  
  So true. However, the camera phone pictures are so annoying and they think it’s the greatest.
- Christopher Tamayo
- Christopher Tamayo
  
  Too tiring to lug around a camera. Adds more things to worry about while traveling. Personally I think the photos and videos phones are taking are great. Unless you’re going to pixel peep, they look fine on a TV and on your phone. I’m perfectly happy with this shot from Prague considering it came from a phone.
- Huge Dom
  
  Phone is the modern day P&S that they can upload and share directly from. Works for some people, doesn’t bother me as much as people using their iPads for that.
- John Wojciechowski
  
  Craig Jardine, if it’s a DSLR, nice shot. If it’s a Hauwei, I’m impressed. So why is Hauwei, Samsung, et al resorting to using stock DSLR photos to promote what a superior camera they supposedly have? When I see Sports Illustrated, National Geographic and the White House press Corp using Huaweis, then I’ll personally drop kick my DSLR and post the picture here taken with a camera phone.
- Scott Heckingbottom
  
  You know it wouldn’t have been a decision handed down from the top – NO absolutely don’t use a picture taken with our phone, go get one taken with a camera and pass it off as being from the phone.
  
  It’s pretty freaking simple, someone in the marketing department was asleep at the wheel and threw the advertisement together using stock images, like they probably do for 99.99% of their advertising. It might have even been an outside advertising firm hired to do it. And likely before the phone was ready to launch and definitely before anyone took it out to a volcano to get pictures. It’s just advertising, it’s not the be all and end all, stop taking it so literally.
Frans Fourie

This is enough to make me never support them regardless the quality of the actual product.
- Huge Dom
  
  Well, there is also this too, which was my draw as an engineer… https://www.diyphotography.net/inventor-sells-home-to-fund-lawsuit-claiming-huawei-stole-his-patent/
  - Tasha Wills
    
    WOW! Just WOW!
- Tasha Wills
  
  Sadly, I think I’ll be there right along with you. Did you see Huawei’s official statement regarding this bust? LOL! What a complete joke.
  
  Huawei reached out with an official statement so here it is:
  
  “We’ve been made aware that there might have been some misunderstanding regarding our recent HUAWEI P30 Series teaser posters. We would like to reiterate that those are, in fact, only teaser posters, and are only intended to hint at the unique new features that will come with the HUAWEI P30 Series. Huawei has acquired the licenses to the original images and the posters are artistic renditions of said features only. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the media for their interest in our posters. We have much to announce in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned!”
  
  How does a company that has repeatedly false advertise it’s products, allowed to get away with it and not be held accountable? I don’t get it. Could someone explain it to me? Because I literally can’t wrap my head around it.
Mohammed Bellouki

Huawei Morocco did worse. They didn’t even buy the pictures, they stole them from a photographer’s instagram.
Jane Kim

Who tells the truth in Ads?
kurutoga

Hi, if you check the nine pictures on weibo, there is a disclaimer at the bottom left corner. It says “画面为广告创意，仅供参考” or “the picture is an advertisement creatiion, for reference only”
- Chris
  
  LOL where to begin…..
  
  When the advertisement is for a camera (not a smartphone), then representing the capability of the camera by presenting a photograph in a manner that suggests that the said camera captured that photograph…but did NOT, is called misrepresentation. It’s False Advertising!
  
  That is where the idea comes from. ‘K?
  - Tasha Wills
    
    Exactly!
- Tasha Wills
  
  That disclaimer was added AFTER they got called out. Huawei quietly updated the ads with a disclaimer in the corner saying that they’re creative ads meant for reference only. There’s a good reason for why such regulations exist regarding disclaimers. The very fact that Huawei made this fix only after getting called out proves it. Regulations are set to fight deceiving marketing tactics. No one is claiming certain images are taken by their products; they are associating certain imagery with their products and features. https://petapixel.com/2019/03/12/huawei-busted-for-faking-smartphone-photos-yet-again/
Chongo Yu

good ole chinese. lol
Kevin Greggain

Well, Huawei should be smart, and to cover their a$$, they should offer a free Pro DSLR with every phone and then the image quality is moot :)
Peter Johnson

Reguardless of disclaimers or any notes that they may use on thier marketing, they are trying to mislead eveyone! (False Advertising) Why place the image there if its not for misleading intentions! This is just the Marketing team out of control and forgot to look at the law and the morals of doing this, If they don’t have faith in thier own product then why should you? Vote with your money and don’t buy the product.
Peter Johnson

As there are coments about quailty also I would like to talk about the degrading of expectation over generations. The music industry is/has gone throught this with the introdution of mp3 format many years ago, a whole generation or two have been only exposed to rubish quality music reproduction but when they hear a wav file it blows thier mind as to what they have been missing out on and what the studio had inteded you hear. This is also true for the Photography industry as the expectation been lowered over the past 15 years so that you think you have a good camera in your phone but once you place it into Photoshop you see how bad it is. Look for a image that has been shoot in Med Format and you will see what I am talking about. All this is really just the Marketing guys controlling the market so the expectation suits the product not you.
James West

No reason for Governments not to trust Huawei…
scada system

ha… scammers never change