Many people are keen to find ways to lower their carbon footprint, and changing how they travel is often the thing that can have one of the greatest impacts. It’s no wonder then that ads which include comparative claims about one mode of transportation versus another, particularly those which encourage people to leave their cars at home and take the train instead, are increasingly common.

Here are a few points which marketers should bear in mind to ensure an upheld ASA ruling doesn’t derail their ads.

Any claim about the emissions (or lack of) of a mode of transport need to comply with the rules in Section 11 of the CAP Code. These, like any environmental claims, should be clear and understandable to consumers and advertisers should be able to substantiate them.

If you make a comparison between, for example, emissions from taking the train instead of driving - the ASA will expect you to make clear exactly what is being compared.

Marketers could end up in hot water by making a claim such as “reduce your emissions by 50% by taking the train instead of driving between London and Birmingham” if they do not make clear how this is calculated. For example:

• Are the driving emissions calculated from a journey driving from Euston Station in London to Birmingham New Street? Or another point within the cities?
• Is this based on one person, two or a family of four?

While it’s unlikely that someone planning that journey and deciding whether to drive or get the train would drive directly from one station to the other, a comparison which uses a different start and end point for each mode of transport would not be a like-for-like comparison, and it’s likely the ASA would consider that an unfair, unclear and misleading comparison.

Comparisons like this should also explain any other factors which could affect whether the figures apply to someone seeing the ad. If a broad claim about car emissions is made, it should be made clear whether this is based on the emissions from the average car on UK roads today. It should also indicate whether this only considers petrol, diesel and hybrid cars or if it includes electric vehicles.

So, to ensure your claims stay on the right track remember to compare fairly, avoid vague descriptions of locations and be specific about what the comparison covers.

CAP’s Guidance on misleading environmental claims has more information, as does this AdviceOnline entry covering ‘green’ claims in travel marketing. Our Copy Advice team are also on hand to provide free, bespoke advice on non-broadcast ads.

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