Is Porter Air breaching ad standards?

Was it misleading to run an ad in September claiming ‘last chance’ to save up to half on air fares when there is a December up to half-off sale? Group files complaint with Ad Standards Canada

By Brian Iler –

Porter Ad (banner top left) from the Star last September 6 edition says this is the “last chance” for up to half off air fares

Porter is currently advertising yet another ‘up to 50% off’ sale in Dec. 6, 2012 edition of the Star.

Is Porter getting so desperate that it feels forced to breach the Code of Advertising Standards? Dec. 5, 2012 brought news of Porter’s third consecutive month of seriously declining sales.

Now we discover Porter’s misled readers when it advertised “last chance this year to save up to 50%” last September 6. ]In fact, Porter is currently advertising yet another “up to 50% off” sale.

The Code states, paragraph 1(a): Advertisements must not contain inaccurate, deceptive or otherwise misleading claims, statements, illustrations or representations…

Porter can’t attempt to induce readers to purchase its flights in September as their “last chance this year”, and then offer the same sale again in December. That’s a breach of the Code, in our view. CommunityAIR has filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Canada.