Complaints from the public that the charges for adult sex chat lines were incorrect or were not shown have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.
The chat lines were advertised in a Sunday newspaper and featured a variety of services. One promised "instant action in 20 seconds, do it with me now", while others suggested "cheap chat", "loads of playful girls on line", and "Europe's busy chat line for gay men".
The newspaper noted that in any printing operation mistakes were sometimes made in production but in general all those advertisements ran correctly. But the authority reminded the publishers of their obligations to ensure inaccurate information was not published, and the complaints were referred to the regulator for premium rate telephone services.
The authority rejected a complaint about an advertisement for a Rape Crisis Centre training programme which stated: "Over 70 per cent of Irish managing directors have a sexual problem." It notes that a 1993 report showed 70 per cent of companies had no training on how to handle instances of sexual harassment.
A complaint about a Cellular World advert, "even Viagra won't stand up against this offer" of £29.99 for a mobile phone and connection, was upheld. The advert appeared on June 21st, but when the complainant tried to avail of the offer on June 30th the price had been put back to the "recommended" £59.99.
The company said the offer had been withdrawn due to high demand, adding that it was prepared to provide the complainant with a phone and connection for £29.99. The authority noted the offer had been advertised as available until July 24th. Ryanair had complaints upheld against it. An advert which stated "Bare Lingus . . . All we drop are our prices!" and which included part of a media story concerning an Aer Lingus employee, prompted a complaint that it was distasteful and disgusting.
Ryanair argued the advert was solely to highlight that it offered "unbeatable" low fares, adding that it related to a story heavily reported in Irish newspapers and on radio and was topical at the time.
The authority insisted its code provided that adverts should not exploit the public reputation of persons in a manner humiliating or offensive and that advertisers should have written permission in advance from anyone portrayed or referred to in an advert.
Also upheld was a complaint by Irish International Group on behalf of Aer Lingus about an advert claiming Ryanair was number one on customer satisfaction and on time.
The authority concluded the advertisement could give the consumer the impression that Ryanair was "number one on time" on all Dublin-London routes when, in fact, on the Dublin-Stansted route, the only Dublin to London route on which Ryanair and Aer Lingus directly competed, data showed Aer Lingus to have a better punctuality record.
An advert by Douglas Newman Good, describing a house in New Cabra Road, Phibsboro, Dublin, as a "distinctive Georgian residence of handsome proportions in excellent condition throughout retaining all of its original period features", was successfully objected to by an An Taisce. It claimed the statement was incorrect and misleading as the original front door and windows had been removed and the replacements were incompatible with the building's architectural character.
