Advertisment
The television advertisement featured a man in his cottage located in the country. His phone rings and the man says “Ah the delivery man”. The man goes outside to see if he can see the delivery van and continues to give instructions to the driver on how to get to his house. The man speaks into his phone as follows:
“Great, ok should be able to see ya!…or not
You should have passed an old phone box
There’s a field with a tree in it. Big sticky up rock. Row of shops, yeh… red door
Yeh, you’re in the wrong place altogether
So where are ya…What!
No, no, no… that’s not a short cut
That’s a cul de sac
You might notice a sign, with no sign on it
(Ah, Ah, Ah)” – (The man is getting agitated at this stage)
“No, your other left…”
The long awaited delivery man then whizzes by the house utterly and completely lost while the man still stands looking up and down the road with his hands on his hips.
The Eircode logo appears on screen accompanied by the text “EIRCODE FIND LIFE EASIER. VISIT THE FINDER AT EIRCODE.IE”
A Female voiceover delivers the following message:
“Use Eircode, Ireland’s new postcode and find life easier.”
Radio advertisement 1
The first radio advertisement featured a mother and daughter trying to locate a house where a birthday party is being held. The conversation ensued as follows:
“MOTHER:
Not another birthday party invitation, Aoife? Who is it this time?
YOUNG GIRL:
Zoe, she’s my best friend.
MOTHER:
But I thought Sinead was your best friend.
YOUNG GIRL:
That was last week, Mom.
MOTHER:
Okay, okay, where does Zoe live?
YOUNG GIRL:
Her mom gave you this.
MOTHER: (under her breath)
Over the bridge, half a mile, stone wall, left fork,
monkey puzzle tree, broken gate…we’ll never find this place.”
A female voiceover delivers the following message
“Use Eircode. Ireland’s new postcode and find life easier.”
A doorbell rings and the laughter of children can be heard from within the house it is obvious that the house of the birthday girl has been found and all the children yell “Aoife” (the name of the girl featured in the advertisement).
The female voiceover features again and invites listeners to:
“Visit the Finder at eircode.ie”
Radio advertisement 2
The second radio advertisement featured a couple driving around trying to locate their son’s new house. The conversation from inside the car ensues as follows:
“WIFE:
You sure you took the right turn?
HUSBAND:
My dear, you distinctly said turn left.
WIFE:
Hmmm, Let’s check Tom’s directions again. Stop! You’ve gone too far.
HUSBAND: (frustrated voice)
How can you tell? The only landmarks are a field, a cottage
another field, and, oh look, another cottage…
WIFE:
That herd of cows looks familiar.
HUSBAND:
Let’s hope they remember you, too. They might know a shortcut.
A female voiceover delivers the following message:
“Use Eircode. Ireland’s new postcode and find life easier”.
The female voiceover features again and invites listeners to:
“Visit the Finder at eircode.ie”
Complaint
Some complainants said that both the television advertisement and the radio advertisements gave the impression that van drivers or those trying to locate a premises could use the new postcodes to help them to find the property they were searching for. They said this was not the case, however, as Eircode addresses did not tie into Satellite Navigation Systems and therefore introducing postcodes did not make life any easier for those making deliveries or those trying to locate a house or other property. One complainant said that the only way a postcode could enable a person to find a certain location was if the postcode was written on every premises in the country.
Another complainant said that while An Post may use the Eircode internally to sort mail that they do not use it externally to locate a house/premises to which they are making a delivery.
A further complainant said that only those with internet access in their vehicles would be able to use the website provided to locate a premises and internet surfing should not be encouraged while driving.
Response
Finding addresses in Ireland
The advertisers said that Global Positiong System (GPS) co-ordinates were embedded into the design of their system and every Eircode had an associated GPS co-ordinate. Using the Eircode Finder referenced in their advertising, an individual could enter an Eircode and the full address with a map showing the exact location was displayed. Furthermore, they said, using the Eircode Finder on a smartphone, enabled individuals to link the location of an Eircode to the mapping functionality on the smartphone and use this to direct them to the location of an Eircode.
The advertisers said that they would never encourage individuals to access the internet whilst driving, directions could be sought either before a journey is made or by linking the Eircode Finder to a smartphone’s mapping functionality, many of which now speak out directions exactly like a satellite navigation system.
Being able to get directions just using an Eircode
The advertisers said that, had those featured in the advertising been provided with an Eircode for the address, they would have been able to pinpoint the exact location of the address by looking at the Eircode Finder online. They considered that they had clearly referenced this fact at the end of each advertisement by inviting individuals to “Visit the Finder at Eircode.ie”
Incorrect addressing
The advertisers said that there were many different versions of an address (e.g. Irish v’s English versions, postal v’s geographic addresses). The addresses used on the Eircode Finder were postal addresses. They said an individual could use any version of an address they wished to, but the Eircode for an address location did not change and neither did the associated GPS co-ordinates.
An Post/Eircode
The advertisers said that while An Post uses Eircode to help them with their automated sorting of letters, Eircode was about much more than post and indeed the main benefit is for those who do not have the local knowledge of the postman.
The advertisers pointed out that the individuals depicted in their advertising, both on television and radio, were not directing the postman to the door. In their television advertising, the character was directing a delivery van to his address and with their radio advertising, one execution depicted a couple trying to find the location of their son’s house and the second execution depicted a mother trying to find the location of a birthday party for her daughter.
Conclusion
Conclusion: Complaints not upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaints and the advertisers’ response. They noted that the advertisers had invited consumers to visit their website Eircode.ie to find the address or location of a property they may be searching for. They had made no reference to using satellite navigation systems or such devices.
The Committee also noted that the advertisers provided a map on their website to pinpoint the exact location of each address entered into the Eircode system. They also considered it normal practice for most people to source information in relation to their journey prior to setting out for their destination. They did not consider that the advertisers had encouraged drivers to use the internet while driving.
In conclusion the Complaints Committee considered the advertising had correctly described or portrayed the service i.e. the ability to use Eircode to correctly identify an address.
Action Required No further action was required in this case.
