Background
Misleading advertising: Excel Charter Ltd trading as Excel Helicopters breaks UK advertising rules for making misleading claims that they work with the BBC and Sky News on the www.excelhelicopters.co.uk website.
The ASA investigated a website for Excel Helicopters which featured the claim “WHO WE WORK WITH” alongside logos for a number of companies, including Sky News and the BBC.
The ASA considered that in the context of the webpage on which the claims appeared, which included brief information about Excel Helicopters providing charter flights and private helicopter hire, consumers were likely to assume that Excel Helicopters provided services to, or otherwise directly worked with the BBC and Sky News.
Excel Helicopters said they had leased aircraft to another company that had contracted with the BBC and Sky News, and that BBC and Sky News had used Excel Helicopters to refuel their aircraft. However, the ASA concluded that as the claims that Excel Helicopter work with the BBC and Sky News had not been substantiated, they were therefore misleading.
The CAP Compliance team contacted Excel Helicopters but, in the absence of an assurance to amend their website to comply with the Code, took the decision on 11 October 2022 to place their company details on this section of the ASA website. These details shall remain in place until such time as Excel Helicopters has removed or appropriately amended the claims on excelhelicopters.co.uk to comply with the CAP Code.
