ASA bans ‘untruthful’ Oyster/ Travelcard comparison poster

A Transport for London poster ad for Oyster travel card headlined “Blue is the new pink” has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleading the public.

The poster shows a one-day Travelcard and an Oyster card and says: “Faster Smarter Easier Oyster”. The advertising watchdog says the poster is misleading because unlike the one-day Travelcard, Oyster pay-as-you-go cannot be used on all National Rail routes in the London area, breaching the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code clause relating to “truthfulness”. The campaign was created by M&C Saatchi.

⢠O2 has been rapped after rivals Orange and Vodafone complained about a press campaign claiming O2 has the “best ever UK mobile network performance”.

The ASA has asked O2 to remove the claims from its ads, and has advised it to seek assistance from the CAP Copy Advice team before making similar claims in future communications.

⢠Capital FM has been censured for misinterpreting a scheduling advice for a Department of Health anti-smoking ad, which says: “A lot of men smoke after they’ve finished sex⦔

The radio station was told by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) to “schedule away from times when children may be listening: and post 19.00.” Capital FM scheduled to run the ad between 9am and 6pm.