UK watchdog bans misleading Ryanair ad
28 Apr 2011
UK ad watchdog has banned a campaign by budget airline Ryanair, promoting its spring flights, deeming it misleading.
The print advertisement had shown a bikini-clad model lying on a beach, urging users to ''Book to the sun now,'' promising them a sunny climate by booking cheap tickets on the airline during February and March.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), acting on a complaint, found that the campaign was misleading because none of the 11 destinations on offer, including Rimini, Lourdes, Derry, Glasgow and Oslo, would be warm in February or March.
In fact, in some of the locations like Oslo the temperatures were as low as 0C.
The maximum temperature for the majority of the destinations was between 6C and 9C while the warmest was between 11C and 14C, the ASA said.
Ryanair argued that the ad was meant to suggest that the destinations received a significant amount of sun during February and March.
