Boeing UK, pubblicita' ingannevole?

[Black Magic]

Boeing has been rapped by the ad watchdog for misleading consumers over the CO2 emissions of its passenger jet.
Boeing ad: ruled in breach of the ad watchdog's environmental code

The national press ad, for Boeing UK, showed a picture of the yet-to-launch 747-8 Intercontinental model with the headline "Our commitment to a better future means cleaner, quieter airplanes".

Copy in the ad made a number of claims on emissions, including that the plane produces "less than 75 grams CO2 per passenger km".

The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that challenged the figure on grounds including that the C02 per passenger km figure was dependent on how many passengers were on board a flight.

Boeing said that many "unknown" factors could affect the CO2 per passenger km figure, adding that a "conservative approach" had been taken in making the calculation.

The US plane manufacturer said it had taken into account variables including the number of seats in each class and the average weight of a passenger, including luggage. Passengers in first class leave a carbon footprint up to five times larger than those in economy on long-haul flights.

However, the ASA said that Boeing's use of a 100% load factor - or a full plane - was not in line with the 79.7% standard figure used by the UK government when calculating airliners' CO2 emissions.

The ad was ruled in breach of the watchdog's environmental code, with Boeing told that in the future it must be clear when a CO2 figure is used based on full occupancy of a plane.

However, the regulator added that the ad would still be fine to run in the aviation trade press, where it is standard practice to use a 100% occupancy level when quoting CO2 emissions.

Last week, Chris Smith, the ASA chairman, pledged to crack down on misleading green claims in ads.

Between January and September this year, the ASA received 449 complaints about 321 ads from companies making various environmental claims.

So far this year, 19 advertising campaigns have been banned for making misleading or false green claims.

In 2006, the ASA banned just 10 campaigns making claims about the environmentally friendly nature of products or services.

And between May and December last year - the furthest back the ASA can provide comparative figures since moving to a new database - the watchdog received 94 complaints about 62 ads over green claims.


Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007