Ryanair has sparked fury with an advert aimed at students showing a young party-goer passed out on a foreign beach next to an empty bottle of alcohol.
The budget airline has been slammed for ‘encouraging binge drinking as normal behaviour’, following the ad, which was directed at thousands of Irish students doing their final exams.
The image is captioned: ‘To all Leaving Cert and A-Level students: plan your dream summer holiday now so you have something to look forward to. Book on Ryanair.com in between ‘studying’ tonight. This could be you.’
Ryanair has sparked fury with an advert aimed at students showing a partygoer passed out on a foreign beach next to an empty bottle of alcohol. The budget airline has been slammed for ‘encouraging binge drinking as normal behaviour’
But the campaign has not been received well on social media, where users have branded the advert ‘irresponsible’ for ‘encouraging binge drinking and beach littering’.
Responding to the advert on Facebook, Joanne Blackwood, commented on the post saying ‘Advert just not funny… I have worked out in resort putting the pieces back together when youngsters overdo it with the drink, drugs etc.
‘Kids jumping off balconies, getting assaulted, getting STDs and worse… Even the major tour operators are moving away from this concept with stylish and responsible holiday options for young people.
‘I am the mother of 3 teenagers and this advert should never have made it out of the marketing department!’
Despite the advert seemingly encouraging students to ‘book on Ryanair tonight’, a spokesperson for the company said it was not an advert and rather their social media team reminiscing about their own ‘lads/girls trip away’
While Niecy O’Keefe said on Twitter: ‘Ryanair wants you to hurry up and finish your exams so you can pay them to fly you to Tenerife where you can binge drink until you have your stomach pumped and you parents have to come and get you.’
Despite the advert seemingly encouraging students to ‘book on Ryanair tonight’, a spokesperson for the company said it was not an advert and rather their social media team ‘reminiscing’ about their own ‘lads/girls trip away’.
Explaining the now deleted tweet, the spokesperson continued: ‘[They] were recalling all the wonderful sightseeing, singsongs and cultural activities they enjoyed as teenagers.’
Ben Butler, Content and Communications Director at alcoholism charity Drinkaware said: ‘Getting so drunk that you pass out is bad for your health, your safety and that of other people and your pride.
Social media reaction with anger at the advertising campaign calling it ‘lazy and clichéd’
‘It’s surprising that this is Ryanair’s idea of a ‘dream summer holiday’ and we would urge the airline to look again at this advert and the message it sends.
‘Binge drinking in particular can be extremely dangerous as your body can only process about one unit of alcohol an hour, and when you’re in a hot country, you need to be extra mindful of staying hydrated. Drinking a lot in a short space of time can lead to serious consequences, and could stop the body from working properly.
‘Holidays offer the ideal opportunity to relax and to create lifelong memories but we would encourage people to be extra cautious, especially when it comes to drinking alcohol abroad.’