Wikipedia saves the Heathrow Express
The UK's weekly Advertising Standards Authority report of adjudictions often throws up a few gems.
An internet ad for the Heathrow Express almost got itself into hot water when somebody questioned the claim: "From the train that gets you from Central London to Heathrow Airport in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes."
The complainant argued that London Paddington, where the service starts its journey westwards, is not actually in Central London.
The ASA, in its report, threw out the complaint after Heathrow Express representatives RPM3 defended the ad with material from Wikipedia and "several travel and tourism websites" which indicated that Paddington is, after all, in Central London.
"We noted all these stations, including Paddington, were in Zone One of the London transport system and were served by London Underground and buses.Very interesting that online sources are becoming reputable reference points for long-in-the-tooth regulators such as the ASA.
"We considered that readers of the ad, whose final destination was a location in central London, would expect the last leg of their journey to involve some additional travel by one of these means of transport.
"We concluded that readers were unlikely to be material misled by the claim."
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: heathrow express advertising train marketing
2 comments:
Wikipedia would never have been considered such a fountain of encyclopaedic knowledge two years ago.
amazing how quickly it has become such a trusted source.
Anonymous: you are probably right.
find it strange that the ASA didn't consult the London mayor's office!?!
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