ASA cracks down on agencies’ green claims in cruise ads

The advertising watchdog has censured four travel agencies over ads which included environmental claims about cruises.

 

Barrhead Travel and three online specialists – Sunshine Cruise Holidays/Cruise1st, Travel Circle/Cruise Circle and Cruise.co.uk/SeaScanner – were told not to run the adverts again in the form investigated or complained of.

 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the rulings were part of a “wider piece of work on environmental claims”.

 

The Barrhead advert on March 29 stated “Celebrity Cruises. A Strong Focus On Sustainability And Eco-friendly Practices”.

 

The ASA challenged whether the ad gave a misleading impression of the advertised cruises’ environmental impact.

 

Barrhead told the ASA that the wording used in the ad was taken, in part, from the cruise supplier’s website.

 

The words “Strong Focus” did not appear on the supplier’s website and had been added by Barrhead Travel in the copy submitted to it digital agency. Following contact from the ASA, it had removed the ad.

 

Celebrity Cruises said it had not been involved in the creation, approval or publication of the ad.

 

The ASA said: “The ad did not explain the basis of the claim ‘A Strong Focus On Sustainability And Eco-friendly Practices’ and we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that sustainability or ‘eco-friendly’ practices were at the heart of Celebrity Cruise’s operations. We therefore concluded it was likely to mislead. We welcomed Barrhead Travel’s decision to remove it.”

The ASA told Barrhead “to ensure that the basis of future environmental claims was made clear and that robust substantiation was held to support them”.

 

A Barrhead Travel spokesperson told Travel Weekly: “We strive to ensure we always provide our customers with genuine and transparent information that accurately reflects the service and practices of our supplier partners.

 

“On this occasion, our wording was not considered an accurate representation of Celebrity Cruises’ sustainability policy. We have taken this feedback onboard and have reviewed internal sign-off procedures and training.

 

“Sustainability is, rightly, a crucial component of the wider travel industry’s future focuses and we will continue to work in partnership with our suppliers to communicate relevant industry updates to our customers to help them make informed decisions about their travel plans.”

 

A Seascanner ad seen on March 20 stated “MSC World Europa also introduces cutting-edge environmental technology, including an advanced LNG-powered engine, making it one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships afloat”.

 

The term “eco-friendly” contained a hyperlink that led to a webpage on the same website titled “Eco-Friendly Cruises”.

 

The text stated: “The cruise industry has made giant leaps over the past decade to reduce its environmental impact. Recycling, incinerating and waste processing are now the norm, not the exception. Green tech is also being installed on new ships and retrofitted on older ones [...] the MSC Virtuosa strives to protect marine life, reduce air emissions and optimise energy.”

 

A campaign group, Opportunity Green, challenged whether the ad, which included the claims “environmental technology” and “one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships” gave a misleading impression about the environmental impact of travel with the advertised cruise ships.

 

Cruise.co.uk, trading as Seascanner, explained the challenged claims were taken from publicly-available sources, which included a MSC Cruises press release that outlined the ship’s environmental and sustainability measures.

 

Following contact with the ASA, Seascanner removed the text “MSC World Europa also introduces cutting-edge environmental technology, including an advanced LNG-powered engine, making it one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships afloat” from its website.

 

MSC Cruises said the wording in the challenged claims had not been directly supplied to Seascanner.

 

The ASA concluded the environmental impact of the advertised cruise ship had not been adequately explained and the ad was likely to mislead, and welcomed Seascanner’s assurance the claims had been removed.

 

It told Cruise.co.uk Ltd t/a Seascanner to ensure that ads featuring environmental claims did not mislead.

 

“The basis of environmental claims, and comparative claims, must be made clear and all material information must be stated, where the omission of that information was likely to mislead,” it said.

 

A spokesperson for Cruise.co.uk/SeaScanner told Travel Weekly: “We take compliance with ASA guidelines seriously and acted in good faith when referencing environmental information about MSC World Europa. The description in question was drawn directly from publicly available material.

 

“Following contact from the ASA, we promptly removed the content from our website. We are committed to providing customers with accurate and transparent information and continuously review our processes to support this goal.”

 

A Cruise Circle advert, also seen on March 20, had a focus on the MSC Euribia cruise ship and featured text about “Eco-Friendly LNG Technology”.

 

Opportunity Green challenged the claims about “Eco-Friendly LNG Technology” and “LNG, the world’s cleanest marine fuel”.

 

Travel Circle Ltd t/a Cruise Circle said its website content came from a third party and it removed the claims from its website.

 

MSC Cruises said it had no control over the form of wording used by travel agents in, among other places, their advertising.

 

The ASA concluded the ad was likely to mislead and told Travel Circle Ltd t/a Cruise Circle to ensure the basis of future environmental claims, and comparative claims, was made clear.

 

“Unless an ad clarified otherwise, they must hold robust substantiation relating to the full life cycle of a cruise to support an environmental claim,” said the ASA.

 

Jason Daniels, managing director of Cruise Circle, told Travel Weekly: “Whilst the content in question came from a 3rd party via an automated feed, we removed it from our website as soon as the ASA contacted us.

 

“Cruise ships comprise less than 1% of the global maritime community, the cruise industry is at the forefront of the development of innovative technologies and practices to reduce emissions and protect the environment.

 

“On the wider issue, Cruise Circle advocates that all industries and stakeholders provide accurate, transparent, and substantiated information when making environmental and sustainability claims.”

 

A page on cruise1st.co.uk seen on April 15 included a page dedicated to MSC Cruise’s offerings which made the claims “Powered by LNG, the world’s cleanest marine fuel”, “Uses new green technologies”, “If you’re keen on cruising but worried about the environmental impact, the MSC World Europa offers a green alternative. With sustainability and lessening the impact of cruises on marine life a key driver in the ship’s design, you can rest easy knowing you’re being powered by cleaner fuel and being propelled by blades that mitigate the worst impacts of underwater noise”.

 

The ASA challenged whether the ad gave a misleading impression of the environmental impact of the advertised cruise ship.

 

Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise 1st told ASA that the content of the ad had been populated directly from the featured cruise line’s official sources.

 

MSC Cruise said it had no control over the form of wording used by travel agents in advertising.

 

The wording in the challenged claims had not been supplied to cruise 1st and had not at any time appeared in MSC Cruises’ own promotional materials.

 

The ASA concluded the ad had exaggerated the environmental credentials of the advertised cruise ship and as a result the ad was likely to mislead.

 

The ASA told Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise 1st to ensure the basis of future environmental claims, and comparative claims, was made clear, and that appropriate evidence was held to support them to ensure that such claims were not exaggerated.

 

“We also told them to ensure they included all material information about the environmental impact of cruises they sold, where the omission of that information was likely to mislead,” it said.

 

Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise1st declined to comment to Travel Weekly.