EasyJet ad ban PR triumph

No frills airline easyJet has got one up on Ryanair after an ASA decision to ban an ad, which implied that its Irish rivals flew customers to the wrong destination, had only succeeded in highlighting the campaign message of the airline.

The Advertising Standards Authority banned the easyJet posters, which pointed out that its flights to destinations such as Barcelona, Paris and Venice were to those cities' primary air hubs, whereas Ryanair only flew to the smaller nearby airports of Girona, Beauvais and Treviso.

But the ASA ruled in favour of Ryanair after concluding that the ad headline 'Who Loves Flying You To The Place You Actually Booked? was misleading and suggested that Ryanair flew passengers to an airport different from the one they had booked.

Ryanair argued that the ad was denigratory as the International Air Transport Association still recognised Girona, Beauvais and Treviso as official airports for their corresponding cities- even though they were up to two hours by bus from the destinations they served.

Nevertheless public relations professionals have questioned whether Ryanair has scored a spectactular PR own goal by pursuing a complaint and inviting more attention to fact that it flies to many inconveniently situated airports, miles from passengers' intended destinations.

And not only has the case reinforced the underlying message behind the easyJet ads, the intense media attention will prove far more effective than the original ads themselves.