Center Parcs advert banned.

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The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a Center Parcs advert as it showed school age children taking part in activities but the offers advertised were not available in school holidays. The ASA concluded that the advert encouraged parents to take their children out of school during term time and was therefore irresponsible! IMO this ruling appears very heavy handed.
m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27113093

And IMO this is the nanny state at it's worst. Why on earth does an advert, a commercial undertaking, have a responsibility to inform a Rents that they should not take their children out of school during term time?

It!s really quite insulting as it's implying that parent's are either too dim to work that out for themselves or so fickle that they'd take up the deal anyway, regardless if it means pulling the kids ou of school in term time.

We seem to be losing the idea that we elect people to run the country for us - not yo lecture us on every aspect of our lives.

Clicky link now I'm not on my phone.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27113093

I quite agree with you Wet and you have put it much more succinctly than I could manage at 3am!

I think the problem is more that parents aren't allowed to take children out of school so CP is advertising something that school-age consumers can't access. And the "not available in school holidays" is hidden away in the small print.

So that isn't really accurate advertising, and it was banned. That's not having a nanny state - that's just protecting consumers from misleading advertising which is a good thing.

I find it hard to be outraged by not seeing an ad for an overpriced holiday park.

I thought you were going to say it had been banned because it had been pushing the bumsex angle...

Quite right to ban it in my opinion. If you can't take children out of school then they are advertising something that doesn't actually exist!

@ bumsex advert.

Ruby - school age children can access though if their parents choose to take them out of school in term time. The 'not available in school holidays' was clearly shown. The ASA's point was that the advert may encourage parents to be "irresponsible" and take term time holidays.

If they were clearly stating 'activities shown may not be available in the school holidays' then ther woudl be no problem. It's a bit like disclaimers on ads for financial services (though customers shouldn't be too dim to spot angles on those either) or ads to children having the 'hand' shot. The child angle obviously being important on this one.

X-post. As long as disclaimer is clear, there really shouldn't be a need for further action.

I still don't think it's the role of the Advertising Standards Agency to police school attendance.

The ad showed a family - it's a holiday venue so a family with children is an appropriate thing to show. It did state that the offer was not available during school holidays.

To me it's a big step from a simple advert to the accusation that it would encourage parents to remove their children from school in term time.

That's the problem with this bloody country - people poking their noses in where they have no business and taking offence at stuff that is not offensive.

One day very soon we will only be able to grunt at each other because all other forms of communication will have been deemed offensive - to someone, somewhere.

Isn't centreparks open on weekends?

Prehaps centre Parcs is hoping to attract private school parents. Anyway academies have the freedom to set their holidays as they please.

I think that banning the ad is the nanny state at its worst.

I would have thought there are always weekends, and last time I checked, a fair few home-ed'ers took holidays as well. They're not glued to school term times.