Watchdog bans Stansted train ads
08.09.10
Posters advertising the Stansted Express have been banned by a watchdog for suggesting that the train would reach central London in 35 minutes. The posters, at Stansted Airport, used the text ‘Train to London 35 minutes’ with images of central London landmarks. But the Advertising Standards Authority noted that the journey to central London took 45 minutes ! It ruled that the advert was likely to mislead passengers.
The ASA also said the train would reach Tottenham Hale in 35 minutes, but that the images on the poster ‘strongly implied’ the train would reach the city centre directly from the airport in 35 minutes.
It added: ‘We understood that many travellers would not necessarily speak English and that the use of tourist landmarks was intended to communicate a simple message. However, we considered that the simplicity of the message could potentially confuse visitors about where in the city they would get to in 35 minutes.’
Only one person had complained that the advert was misleading. National Express, which runs the Stansted service, said: ‘We have already started to change the ads,’ although they were still up when a member of our team passed through the airport on Friday.
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