Advertisment
Point of Sale material at Vue Cinema, Liffey Valley stated:
“SUPER MONDAYS
EVEY TICKET, EVERY MONDAY
Only €4.99*
Visit myvue.com/offers to activate and book”
A footnote at the bottom of the poster stated:
“*Bank holidays and other exclusions apply. Additional 75c booking fee applies per ticket purchased online or via our call centre. See myvue.com/legal for details.”
Complaint
The complainant had viewed the offer and decided to purchase tickets for a Monday screening. The complainant went to book tickets and noted that she would have to register her details and on receipt of an email with a promotional code, she could then book her tickets. When she used the code to purchase her tickets she noted that she had been charged more than the advertised rate of €4.99 and that ticket prices ranged from €4.99 up to roughly €10. As the point of sale advertising had stated “Every Ticket, Every Monday” the complainant considered that it was misleading.
Response
They advertisers stated that they did not believe that their advertising was in breach of the Code as all their standard tickets at their Dublin cinema on a Monday were €4.99 each. They believed that consumers were sufficiently aware and understood that the reference price was for a standard ticket and that they would have to pay more for upgrades to a 3D film and for tickets on a Bank Holiday, as was indicated in their asterisked point.
The said that the web address provided on the poster brought users to the terms and conditions of all their offers and a further link brought them to the terms for the Super Monday promotion which included:
• the offer was valid for 2D film tickets in standard seats for €4.99;
• Additional charges apply for 3D screenings, 3D glasses, VIP and recliner seating upgrades;
• Customers need to become a Vue Member and ‘Activate’ their Super Monday code on the Vue website.
Further information:
The advertisers provided further information stating that the advertising was an isolated advertisement and was not used extensively and/or across different formats at their Dublin cinema. They said that due to an oversight it had not been reprinted or removed from view following their last review of their marketing copy. They confirmed that it had since been removed and the claim was no longer being made at their Dublin cinema.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. While the Committee noted that the price notification in the advertisement had been linked, by way of an asterisk, to the notification of exclusions, they considered that it was not acceptable to advertise an offer suggesting that “Every ticket, Every Monday” was included in the offer when it was subject to exclusions. In the circumstances the Committee considered that the advertising was in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
As the advertising was no longer in use, no further action was required.
