ASA complaint on cruise operators by Opportunity Green

In September 2023, campaign group Opportunity Green issued complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) over what it described as “the cruise industry’s systemic misleading advertising of fossil LNG as a ‘green’ fuel”. Alongside the complaints, Opportunity Green also published a report, “(Un)Sustainable from Ship to Shore”, which it says “highlights the systemic nature of the cruise industry’s apparently misleading advertising, including claims being made by some of the biggest international cruise companies such as Carnival, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Costa Cruises”. The report identifies three key communication strategies said to be being used by several companies that risk breaching advertising rules in the UK. These are: 1. Advertising the use of fossil LNG as reducing emissions 2. Advertising fossil LNG as environmentally friendly 3. Advertising the use of fossil LNG as a specific initiative of reaching net zero by 2050. Following a nine-month investigation, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reached “informal resolution” with MSC Cruises. It was agreed that MSC Cruises would completely remove the adverts in the form complained of, and ensure that future ads will be clear and not make absolute environmental claims unless robust substantiation is held. Informal resolution means that, because the company has taken down or corrected the advertisements and given appropriate assurances to the ASA, the complaint will not be assessed by the ASA Council for a formal ruling. Details of the complaint and findings of the investigation will not be made public, but MSC Cruises will be listed on the ASA’s website here as a company against which a complaint has been informally resolved.