Holidays, travel and motoring

Helpful guidance on the advertising rules for ads about Holidays, Travel or Motoring, and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in these areas.

When it comes to buying a holiday or a car, there is an array of consumer choice. There are dozens of comparative websites out there to make the decision easier but it is important consumers can trust all holiday, travel and motoring ads they see not least because their purchasing decisions can often be expensive ones.

Holiday and travel ads should ensure they don’t mislead consumers and should contain all non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to most buyers in their quoted price. Holiday advertisers should ensure that their descriptions are accurate and the photos which they feature in their ads are representative of what’s being offered. They should also ensure they have evidence to back up any comparative claims they are making in their ads and proof of availability of an offer.

Motoring ads must also make sure they don’t mislead consumers but another important part of the advertising rules they must adhere to are those around social responsibility.

Adverts for cars must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving, such as not wearing a seatbelt, or depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or break the law. Car ads are permitted to give general information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration, braking power, road holding and top speed, but they cannot make speed or acceleration claims the main message of their ads or link speed with excitement.

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Latest rulings

Grapevine Europe Ltd
- Upheld
- Television
- 20 May 2020
A TV ad for a car buying comparison site misled consumers about what personal information was needed to obtain valuations from their website.
British Airways plc
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site), Radio
- 01 April 2020
A website and radio ad for British Airways made misleading claims about a 2-for-1 travel voucher.
RSD Travel Ltd
- Upheld
- Magazine, Circular
- 11 March 2020
A magazine price comparison ad for a holiday to Cyprus was banned for being misleading.
Auto Union Finance Ltd t/a new-car-discount
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 04 March 2020
A website for a car retailer created a misleading impression that the vehicles listed on some pages were new when that was not the case.

View all rulings

Holidays, travel and motoring

Helpful guidance on the advertising rules for ads about Holidays, Travel or Motoring, and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in these areas.

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Relevant codes

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