Oystercard Ad Banned

Travel card poster ordered down

"Blue is the new pink" - so the Oystercard advert said, implying that your Oystercard was better than your one day Travelcard. Well it isn't, and so many people have complained about this mis-leading ad, that London Underground have been forced to pull the ad. Fan-fooking-tastic!

"passengers complained the two were not equal, as Oystercards cannot be used on all National Rail routes.

M&C Saatchi, who created the ad, said it made no claims on behalf of any transport network not run by TfL."

Said the BBC "The Oystercard has been much trumpeted by mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who wants to see less cash being used on buses and the Tube, in an effort to speed up the network."

And I love the ASA "The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordered TfL to withdraw the poster, which carried the tagline: "Faster, smarter, easier, Oyster", because it breached the advertising code.

A second advertisement claiming using Oyster pre-pay was "more convenient" also drew criticism.

The ASA pointed out that passengers would have to buy an extra ticket to travel on National Rail routes not covered by Oyster."

A TfL spokesman got out his or her handbag and said: "The main issues raised in the complaints were related to the National Rail network not accepting Oyster, which is beyond our control.

"We believe our marketing made clear that Oyster is easier and more convenient than paper tickets for passengers travelling on the Transport for London network."

This story had made my day, as it confirms most of my arguments about Ken Livingstone bleating on about how Oystercards are the best thing since sliced bread. They ain't, and the last line from the excellent Going Underground spoof song with video by Bloggerheads becomes even more pertinent now!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, November 09, 2005 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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