Center Parcs misled families, says advertising watchdogs
Center Parcs has been found guilty of misleading advertising following a TV ad which showed a family with school-age children enjoying a midweek break at a price that was only available during term-time.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the advert, shown in January, implied that families with school age children would be able to take advantage of the offer of a four-night break for four people from £249.
The advert included a voice over which stated: "What would you like your children to inherit? A house? A clock? The family silver? Or something a little more valuable?"
However, one viewer complained to the ASA that the lead-in price was not available during weekend or school holiday periods so families with school age children, such as those shown in the ad, were excluded.
Center Parcs argued that it believed it was clear from the conditions mentioned in the advert that offer only applied to midweek breaks as the only four-night breaks it sells are Monday to Thursday, a fact which would have been reiterated to customers when they visited the website or called to book.
It also said it did not believe consumers would expect to be able to take a family of four, including two school age children on holiday at the advertised price. The visual ad, it said, was only intended as a general description of the Center Parcs environment.
Center Parcs said there were no defined dates that could be referred to as school holidays because these vary across the country. Its offer was available from January to March and later dates were added from in September, early October and November and early December.
Upholding the complaint, the ASA said: "Because the ad focused exclusively on the benefits of the resort for families with young children, we considered that the omission of information about the available travel periods, which would have alerted viewers to the fact that the offer was unlikely to be available during school holidays, was likely to mislead."
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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