The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint about an Aer Lingus advertisement which claimed that the airline's "new wider seats" were so spacious that people would "hardly notice" who was sitting next to them.
Illustrations on the advertisements showed a substantial gap between two occupied seats while the text said that the "space, comfort and privacy" provided by the new seating configuration meant that Premier Service Europe was "fit for a King". One of the advertisements featured a businessman reading a newspaper, oblivious to the fact that Elvis Presley was in the adjoining seat.
A passenger made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI), saying that only two of the five seats in each row were separated in the manner advertised by Aer Lingus. As a result, the facility advertised in the photograph was not available to 60 per cent of passengers using Premier Service Europe. The complainant said that some of the aircraft used by Aer Lingus did not have the new seat layout.
Aer Lingus said that the actual size of the individual seats was identical for all Premier Service Europe passengers, regardless of whether or not there was a gap between their seat and the seat beside them. It said the advertisement made it clear that the service was available on selected routes only and told the ASAI that the advertising campaign was to be replaced by a new one.
Ryanair was the subject of a complaint for failing to mention in a leaflet that a £59 fare to Glasgow was subject to availability and some conditions. Ryanair said that reference to "normal qualifications" was omitted from the leaflet through error and promised that steps would be taken to avoid a recurrence.
A complaint against an advertisement by Cyberia Cafe offering Internet access at an hourly rate of £4 was also upheld. On visiting the cafe, the complainant was informed that the £4 rate applied only to those who held e-mail accounts. The cafe explained that the advertisement was originally placed in the magazine four months previously, when the rate was £4 per hour for everybody.
Fast Fit Exhausts fell foul of the ASAI because of a coupon in the Independent Directory offering "£10 off a set of four new tyres". A customer purchased a set of tyres from one of the company's depots, but on presenting the coupon was informed that the discount did not apply to "those tyres". The promoters explained that, due to a printing error, a qualification - "this offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer" - had been omitted.
According to the ASAI, Carphone Warehouse failed to respond to a complaint about an advertisement offering "free connection on selected phones". When the complainant inquired about the price of a new phone he was told that it would cost twice the price listed in the leaflet and that the offer related only to new mobile phone service accounts. The ASAI upheld the complaint that the advertisement was misleading because the reference to "free connection" and the footnote "prices are subject to connection" were imprecise and inadequate.
The ASAI is a self-regulatory body set up by the advertising industry to promote high standards in commercial advertising and to enforce the Code of Advertising Standards and the Code of Sales Promotion Practice.
