THE ADVERTISING Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against Portland Direct, Thomson’s direct-sell arm, about an advertisement that claimed it undercut travel agents prices by 15%.
The company had published an advert that stated: “When you buy a holiday from a travel agent, he makes his money from commission – normally around 15% of the total price of the holiday.”
The ASA received a complaint about the advert from an undisclosed industry source in Lancashire. The watchdog ruled that Portland could not back up the claim that its holidays cost less than the ones sold by agents because of the size of their commission rates, or that agents’ commission was normally around 15%. Portland was ordered not to repeat the claim.
Meanwhile, a complaint against a Ryanair advertisement headed ‘Expensive B*****ds’ was also upheld following objections from the public. The ASA ruled that it was likely to cause “serious or widespread offence”.