A TV ad for travel comparison website travelsupermarket which uses X-Factor pop duo Jedward to poke fun at holidaymakers who book trips through travel agents has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.
The ASA agreed with complaints from two travel agents and a couple of members of the public that the ad was misleading and has ordered Travelsupermarket not to show it again in its present form.
The advert showed the twins sitting on sun loungers by a swimming pool and comic Omid Djalili asking them how much they paid for their holiday; one twin claimed to have found his holiday £200 cheaper at travelsupermarket.com than the other who booked through a travel agent.
Pole Travel and PR World Travel claimed the savings were exaggerated and that it incorrectly implied that travelsupermarket.com would always be cheaper than travel agencies.
The ASA agreed that there was no ‘robust evidence’ to back up travelsupermarket’s claim that its customers could typically save £200 on holidays. The company had compared just five holidays and it had used brochure prices, not actual prices paid, for comparisons.
However, the ASA dismissed the complaint that travelsupermarket implied it would always be cheaper than travel agents, but it ruled that the ad must not be broadcast in its current form.
By Linsey McNeill
