An advert for the world’s first transatlantic flight to be 100% powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been banned, as the advertising watchdog said it was misleading.
Ad misleading
Virgin Atlantic produced an advert for the world’s first transatlantic flight to be 100% powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
First aired in November, the ad informed listeners about the first long-haul commercial aircraft to fly across the Atlantic using 100% SAF, comprised of sugar from industrial cornstarch and animal fats unsuitable for human consumption.
“On the 28th of November, Virgin Atlantic’s Flight 100 will take to the skies on our unique flight mission from London Heathrow to JFK to become the world’s first commercial airline to fly transatlantic on 100% sustainable aviation fuel,” the ad stated.
“When they said it was too difficult, we said: ‘challenge accepted.’ Virgin Atlantic Flight 100. See the world differently.”
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said listeners would presume that ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ meant exactly that but that was not the case.
The radio ad, which promoted the transatlantic flight, was misleading in its unqualified ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ claim, said the regulator.
The airline didn’t qualify its ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ claim.
Virgin Atlantic then confirmed to the ASA that the SAF powered flight emitted the same amount of CO2 as conventional jet fuel.
Use of SAF is key, but the Advertising Standards Authority said it still generates ‘significant’ emissions and its production can have “wider environmental costs and trade-offs”.
All further Virgin Atlantic ads referring to SAF benefits must include verifiable information explaining the environmental impact of the fuel, the ASA says.
“It’s important that claims for sustainable aviation fuel spell out what the reality is so consumers aren’t misled,” said the ASA’s director of complaints and investigations Miles Lockwood.
Warning to advertisers
The watchdog issued a warning to businesses seeking to promote their climate mitigation or environmentally friendly measures, saying it expected any claims to be backed up.
Businesses “need to be wary” of using statements like “100% sustainable” or “sustainable” when advertising products and services, Mr Lockwood said.
“Claiming that a product or service is sustainable creates an impression that it is not causing harm to the environment and for that reason we expect to see robust evidence that this is the case.”
Virgin Atlantic’s response
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We’re committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and key to this will be using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is one of the most immediate levers to decarbonising long haul aviation.
“SAF is a term used globally by industry and government for fossil-alternative aviation fuels that adhere to specific sustainability criteria.
While we are disappointed that the ASA has ruled in favour of a small number of complaints, we remain committed to open, accurate and transparent engagement on the challenge of decarbonisation.”
Source: Sky News
