Bristol hotel warned over airport advert
The Cadbury House hotel in Bristol has been instructed by the Advertising Standards Authority to remove a billboard outside Bristol Airport claiming they’re located just 10 minutes away.
BVP’s Bristol Airport Meet and Greet parking team have learned this week that The Cadbury House hotel in Bristol has been asked to remove an advert claiming the journey time between the airport and the hotel takes just 10 minutes.
Complaints from a member of the public
The ASA got involved in the case when a member of the public complained that the advert exaggerated the hotel’s proximity to the airport, something that the ASA agreed with on investigating the matter.
The ASA discovered that the ‘test’ journeys conducted by the hotel’s marketing team, had been undertaken late at night or early in the morning when traffic was likely to be minimal.
‘Just 11 minutes away’
In response to the ASA’s request that they remove the billboard, Hotel Manager Mark Hands instead altered the sign with spray paint to read ‘just 11 minutes away’ in a publicity stunt.
In its adjudication of the matter, the ASA said: “We understood the journey, at most times of the day, would take longer due to traffic.”
“We noted the ad was displayed on the side of the road leaving the airport and considered that customers would infer that the claim related to journey time by road.”
“Because we had not seen evidence that the average journey time by road, for the greater part of the day, would be 10 minutes or less, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”
The ASA decided the ad breached two Committee of Advertising Practice Code rules and concluded that it “must not appear again in its current form”.
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