Ryanair’s knuckles rapped for misleading ‘green’ advert
Ryanair has had its knuckles rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for an advertising campaign in which the airline claims to be the most environmentally friendly in Europe. The British authority rules that Ryanair cannot simply make such a statement.
Claim about lowest 'emissions' is misleading
In the advertising campaign, Ryanair claimed to have the lowest emissions compared to the largest 27 airlines in Europe. The company also used slogans such as 'Europe's lowest emission airline' and 'Low CO2 emissions', which touched on a sore spot of experts in the field of energy, transport and sustainable development, among others.
ASA ruling
The British advertising watchdog states that if Ryanair wants to communicate that it produces fewer emissions than other airlines, it will have to substantiate and prove this claim. According to ASA, this was not made clear in the advertising campaign and the evidence provided was also insufficient to show that Ryanair actually emits the least CO2. On this basis, ASA concludes that Ryanair's claims are misleading.
Want to know more? Read the full ruling (G19-1035778) on ASA's website!