The Stansted Express posters put up at Stansted Airport have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) because the message on the posters imply that its train could reach central London in 35 minutes.
The banned posters, with the text "Train to London 35 minutes" together with images of the capital. It is noted that the journey to central London took about 45 minutes. So, ASA ruled that the advert was likely to mislead passengers. One person had complained that the advert was misleading.
But according to National Express which runs the Stansted service, the use of tourist landmarks was intended to communicate a simple message of train services to London. Its spokesman said that international passengers arriving at the airport made up 58% of the train's business, many of whom did not speak or understand fluent English.
The banned posters, with the text "Train to London 35 minutes" together with images of the capital. It is noted that the journey to central London took about 45 minutes. So, ASA ruled that the advert was likely to mislead passengers. One person had complained that the advert was misleading.But according to National Express which runs the Stansted service, the use of tourist landmarks was intended to communicate a simple message of train services to London. Its spokesman said that international passengers arriving at the airport made up 58% of the train's business, many of whom did not speak or understand fluent English.
Well, anyway ASA said that the simplicity of the message could potentially confuse visitors about where in the city they would get to in 35 minutes. The banned posters are simple, but simply confusing too. [source: bbc.co.uk]
banned posters london national express stansted express
