Ryanair wins ASA victory against “denigratory†EasyJet ad
Tuesday, 03 Mar, 2010
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The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint by Ryanair against arch rival easyJet.
The UK budget airline was ordered not to repeat advertising which claimed its Irish competitor did not fly passengers “to the place you actually booked”.
The poster, which appeared on a train, suggested Ryanair flew to airports in the proximity of the cities promoted as destinations.
But Ryanair argued successfully that the ad was misleading because it implied people would not fly to the city they booked to whereas the advertising and website made clear where the airline flew to.
Upholding Ryanair’s complaint, the ASA said: “While we noted EasyJet’s argument that the ad was merely a comparison between airport locations, we were concerned that by listing the airports which Ryanair flew to but only referring to the ones EasyJet flew to in much smaller print at the bottom of the ad and by not giving any data which readers might use to make an assessment of the facts, the ad did not achieve that end.
“We considered the challenging tone of the headline ‘Who loves flying you to the place you actually booked?’ combined with the implication that Ryanair misled customers and flew them to airports different to the ones they had booked was denigratory.”
EasyJet UK general manager Paul Simmons said: “It is a well-know fact that EasyJet flies to major airports whereas Ryanair serves out-of-town airfields which can be a two hour bus ride away from your destination.
“While we are disappointed by the ruling which is based on a technicality, we respect the ASA’s decision and will not repeat the advert in the same form.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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