Ryanair takes complaints about ad watchdog to OFT

by Staff, Brand Republic 04-Apr-08, 12:40

LONDON - No-frills airline Ryanair has today submitted a formal complaint to the UK Office of Fair Trading about rulings made by the Advertising Standards Authority, after learning that the watchdog has itself referred the company to the OFT.

Submitting a formal complaint to the Office of Fair Trading, the low budget airline said the ASA had "demonstrated a repeated lack of independence, impartiality and fairness" in rulings against it.

The ASA has upheld a number of complaints about Ryanair's ads, with seven rulings going against the airline over the past two years.

In January, Ryanair was refusing to back down in a battle with the watchdog over a "provocative" schoolgirl ad that was banned. ASA instructed media owners not to run it following complaints that it was offensive and carried sexual connotations.

Ryanair said that the ASA had repeatedly failed to adjudicate on Ryanair's advertising in an independent or impartial manner and had made findings that it claims are in contravention of the evidence simply in order to rule against Ryanair's ads.

Peter Sherrard, Ryanair spokesman, said: "This unelected quango's director general has a stated policy of 'fighting back' against Ryanair's justified public criticisms of its bizarre, factually inaccurate and untenable rulings.

"We are calling on the OFT to examine this catalogue of mal-administration, bias and incompetence by the ASA, and require in future that the ASA rules on Ryanair's adverts in an independent, impartial, fair and reasonable manner."

Ryanair's move has been prompted by a forthcoming adjudication by the ASA about yet another misleading Ryanair ad which refers the airline to the OFT. The ruling was not due to be made public until next week.

However in light of Ryanair's action today, the ASA said it decided to made public its decision to refer the airline to the trading body.

Comments

Mark Palmer - 04/04/2008

Has anyone ever tried complaining about Ryanair's service. Impossible to find a contact. If you do, they'll charge you a premium rate phone number and keep you hanging. Regularly fluant ways of squeezing supposed customers or not delivering and then hide as a business. This is just more PR propoganda from a business who have no regard for the concepr of fair or openess and continually hide behind the fact that they are on the internet. Bullies in the playground. Bullies in business.

Mark Doherty - 04/04/2008

What I want to know .... which "Act of Parliament" grants the ASA it's "Authority" to impede rightful commercial progress, through innovative creativity Or is the ASA simply a body which monitors a voluntary code of conduct? Afterall to instruct media owners not to carry or run an Advertisement, which it appears it does, is extremely dangerous, and is tantamount to "Mugabeism" and goes against the whole ethos of "Free Speech" and "Creativity" Very Very simply put, surely should it not be more appropriate If an Advertisement is found to be against the "Public Good" then the owners of that advertisement should be subject to a "Fine" the fine can only be imposed after a "Full" Court hearing where both sides can vent their case, and all of the facts in the case can be open for all to examine. The degree of "Penalty" will vary according to the severity of "Offence" Under such "orderly" democratic arrangement, with the "Judiciary" at the helm the system would of course be a lot more Balanced. Mark Doherty Mark Doherty

Jeremy Lee - 04/04/2008

Once again Ryanair has proved that it is willing to damage the reputation and credibility of the ad industry for some very cheap and pointless PR. Well done.