An advertisement by Aer Lingus has been found to be misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad, which announces the airline’s new direct flights from Gatwick, was investigated after a complaint by rival easyJet.

Easyjet challenged the ad because although the voice over stated that prices were ‘from’ prices, the on-screen text did not.

Aer Lingus argued that the voice-over was clear and had more prominence, but agreed to later add in the word ‘from’ on the on-screen text.

It said the changes were in the “interests of clarity” and not in the acceptance of the point made by easyJet.

But the ASA decided the ad was misleading.

“We considered that the contradiction between the on-screen text and voice-over could pontentially confuse consumers as to the actual stated price,” it concluded.

“Although we acknowledged that the difference was marginal, we considered that the price was a key attribute of the advertised service and the overall message and therefore should have been stated clearly and unambiguously. Because it had not, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.”

Paul Simmons, easyJet’s UK regional general manager, said: “We always welcome healthy competition. It’s good for everyone. But launching into a new market with an advert that breached the TV advertising code on four different counts under the “misleading” category and one count on “accurate pricing” is an unusual way to announce your arrival.”

By Bev Fearis