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Misleading - Thomas Cook
Teletext

Issue

A viewer saw an advertisement on a Thomas Cook Teletext page for a two week JMC holiday to Tenerife for £214 (GBP) per person during the month of February. On telephoning Thomas Cook for specific dates in February he was told that the price was in fact £378 (GBP).

Response

The advertiser explained that the page should have included 'prices from', but due to an error this had been left off. It had been included on other similar pages.

Decision

The advertisement gave the impression that all dates in February for this holiday cost £214 (GBP). A 'prices from' caption should have been included on the page to make clear that the price could be higher than that. Although there was no intention to mislead, the advertising breached Advertising Standards Code Rule 5.3.1 (Accurate pricing)

Conclusion

No further action as advertising no longer on air.

Misleading - Citroen
Euro RSCG WNEK Gosper

Issue

A commercial for Citroen cars offered a cash back equivalent to VAT. The advertisement highlighted two models - C3 and Xsara Picasso - and finished with the voice over stating, "No VAT on Citroen cars, until December 31st." Text said "Citroen. No VAT until December 31st." A viewer tried to buy a C2, but was told this model was not part of the offer. He complained that the advertising implied the promotion applied to all Citroen cars.

Response

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre and the agency said that the advertisement had been model specific as opposed to a commercial for the whole Citroen range. The BACC said that similar campaigns had been broadcast for a number of years without complaint.

Decision

Previous campaigns had made it clear that only those models featured were part of the offer. However, we believe that in this case, the voiceover and text at the end of the commercial gave the impression that the whole range was included in the promotion, not just the specific models mentioned. Therefore the advertising breached Advertising Standards Code Rule 5.1 (Misleading).

Outcome

The advertising should not be shown again in its current form.

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