Advertisment
A radio advertisement for the production of La Boheme at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre stated:
“ILA presents one of the World’s greatest operas, La Boheme, at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from November 30th to December 4th. Supported by RTE and The Irish Times, this spectacular production from The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow features Celine Byrne, Ireland’s star international soprano and is the dramatic story of bohemian love, romance and betrayal in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Tickets from Ticketmaster from €35 subject to service charge.”
Complaint
The complainant considered that the radio advertisement was misleading. Having purchased tickets for the Saturday night performance, he discovered from a subsequent press advertisement that Celine Byrne would not appear on that night. He said that the radio advertisement had stated that the production “features Celine Byrne” without specifying when. The complainant said that he had had to change his tickets at some cost and inconvenience to him.
Response
The advertisers said that it was true that the radio advertisement had not specified the dates that Celine Byrne was appearing as there were only so many words that could be included in a 30 second radio advertisement. However, they said that all their press advertisements, flyers, the Bord Gais Energy website and the Ticketmaster website had clearly stated the dates that Celine Byrne was performing. In their opinion it would have been impossible for consumers to have missed this information. They said that they had received no other complaints and they noted that the complainant had been able to change his tickets when he realised his mistake.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Committee considered the details of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted that the radio advertisement detailed the dates of the production and specified that it featured an acclaimed performer. They considered that in the absence of an indication to the contrary, listeners would conclude that she would perform on all the dates detailed. As there was no indication that the performer would not perform on all dates, the Committee considered that the radio advertisement was in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form
