ASA rules against Kulula.com

The airline has been in the news lately for its tongue-in-cheek campaign around being the "Unofficial National Carrier of the ‘You Know What'" and its call on all airlines to maintain reasonably prices tickets during the 2010 World Cup.

Double-headed arrow

The body copy of the emailed ad states: "Fly to these great destinations between 1 February and 25 June 2010" and then lists the applicable destinations;

Jo'burg (O.R Tambo) < - - > Durbs
Jo'burg (Lanseria) < - - > Durbs
Cape Town < - - > PE
Durbs < - -> PE”

The complainant felt that the double-headed arrow indicates a return flight, while the tickets were for one way flights only. The airline argued that the ad indicates that the price is valid on the specified route in either direction. ASA found on the side of the complainant.

"The main question to consider is whether or not the hypothetical reasonable person would interpret these double-headed arrows to imply a return trip as the complainant suggests," the ASA wrote in its ruling. "Between each of the relevant destinations, a double-headed arrow appears which causes ambiguity.”

“Ambiguous at best”

The ASA found that the ad "is ambiguous at best, which by inference is likely to mislead a hypothetical reasonable person."

It also argued that the medium allowed ample room to make it explicitly clear that the advertised fares were one-way only. ASA ruled that the ad had to be withdrawn with immediate effect.

Kulula.com ad agency King James has stated that it was not involved in the creation of the ad in question. It seems to have been done in-house at Kulula.com.