Authority upheld half of advertising complaints

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland's (ASAI) latest bulletin reveals it has upheld half of the complaints about advertisements brought to its attention recently.

The authority's chief executive, Mr Edward McCumiskey, said five of the 10 advertisements were found to be in breach of codes of standards on various grounds.

Claims about calcium levels in Ballygowan Natural Mineral Water contained in a mail-shot were challenged by a medical doctor. The doctor said an ordinary person would have to drink 50 litres of Ballygowan a week to meet the 800mg recommended daily intake of calcium.

The ASAI concluded that the health claims made in the advertisement had not been subtantiated and the complaint was upheld.

The Authority also upheld a section of Ryanair's complaint about a Go Fly Limited advertisement that appeared in the press and on RT╔ radio.

Ryanair objected to the claim that Go's service from Dublin to Glasgow saved travellers time and money by flying to central Glasgow and not Ayrshire.

Ryanair argued that the discounted fares available to its passengers were less than the cost of transport from Glasgow International and argued that Glasgow International was no quicker. The ASAI agreed the claim of saving time and money had not been substantiated. The advertisers undertook not to use the claim again.

However, another complaint by Ryanair about Go was not upheld.

Meanwhile, a complaint about a Trailfinders' advertisement for air fares was also upheld. The complainant read an advertisement under the heading "Current best buys on the world's finest airlines", offering return flights to San Francisco from £319.

When he tried to buy a ticket at that price he was told that because he wished to travel in the high season, the cost would be £599.

The ASAI said the wording of the advertisement was ambiguous. It recommended that the advertisers include details of relevant flight dates in future advertising.

Complaints were also upheld against leaflets for a magnetic therapy, by Irish Response; an advertisement in a consumer magazine for an internet-based information service provided by CFI Online Limited; and advertisements in the provincial press for a driver test by Hynes Driving School.