A travel group has been censured by watchdogs after it promoted bargain ‘summer’ holidays – to be taken in September and October.
TUI, formerly known as Thomson, ran a TV ad in June to drum up business at a time when millions of British families were enjoying a heatwave.
But it failed to make it clear that the ‘summer’ trips could only be taken between September 1 and October 31 – when many families will be sending their children back to school.
One advert offered a holiday to Turkey for £279 per person and included the message: ‘Perfect summer holidays that put you in the middle.’
TUI, formerly known as Thomson, ran a TV ad in June to drum up business at a time when millions of British families were enjoying a heatwave
However, what the package holiday giant failed to make clear was that these ‘summer’ holidays could only be taken between September 1 and October 31.
For most people, that period marks the beginning of Autumn, with children back at school, the nights drawing in, leaves falling off the trees and preparations for Halloween.
And the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has decided in a ruling published today that TUI was stretching the definition of summer beyond breaking point.
In its defence, TUI stated that its summer holiday booking period runs from April 1 to October 31. It also pointed out that the advertisement carried on-screen text stating the departure dates and that the deals were only available from selected airports.
Separately, the Clearcast organisation, which pre-vets TV commercials, argued that, technically, autumn does not begin until the middle of September, according to the astronomical calendar, which charts the seasons according the earth’s position in relation to the sun rather than the weather.
But it failed to make it clear that the ‘summer’ trips could only be taken between September 1 and October 31 – when many families will be sending their children back to school
However, that failed to convince the ASA, which said: ‘Consumers would interpret the term ‘summer holidays’ to mean holidays available for travel during the calendar months of June, July and August, which were all commonly referred to as summer months and which included the school holiday period.
‘We also acknowledged Clearcast’s comments that the first two weeks of departure were still within the astronomical summer period, which ran into September. However, we did not consider that a travel period of September and October only was likely to align with consumers’ understanding of the term in the context of the ad.
‘Because the offer was not available for travel during the summer months of June, July and August, we concluded that the ad was misleading.’