Thomson Holidays has reacted to a hard-hitting price comparison advertising campaign from easyJet Holidays with its own campaign.
From today (Friday June 24) adverts will appear in a range of national and regional newspapers starting with the Metro under the strapline ‘There’s no comparison’.
The ad adds: “Some companies think they can copy our holidays for less. Let’s set the record straight” and goes on to claim 94% of Thomson hotels are rated as good or excellent and three quarters of its hoidays are exclusive.
The advert comes just a week after easyJet Holidays, a collaboration between easyJet and the Lowcost Holiday Group, released a tactical campaign comparing the prices of five different holiday options with Thomson and Thomas Cook.
The Thomson advert claims much of the operator’s product is unique and therefore beyond comparison. It also highlights value with Thomson also giving away thousands of Kids Go Free places for this summer’s school holidays until June 30.
The campaign will launch in the Metro today and appear in a number of key national newspapers this weekend. It will also be supported by email and online marketing.
Jeremy Ellis, head of marketing at Tui, said: “This campaign for Thomson is a direct reflection of Tui UK’s business strategy to invest in distinctive product, that the rest of the market is unable to copy and which will drive higher margins.
“We believe wholeheartedly that our holidays are the best you can get, both in experience and true value, and we don’t believe they are comparable with anyone else’s.
“Customers, particularly when the economy is flat, are not willing to compromise on the most important two weeks of the year, so providing a brilliant holiday experience is really important.”
Travel Weekly’s story about the easyJet Holiday’s campaign prompted comments from readers refuting the prices it quoted in the advert including one who claimed to work for Thomas Cook who had checked the prices on Viewdata.