On the Beach rebukes trolls for ‘fattist, snobby’ comments about family in its TV ad

By Kelly Ranson
29/01/2024
Home » On the Beach rebukes trolls for ‘fattist, snobby’ comments about family in its TV ad

On the Beach has criticised social media comments about the family that features in its Peaks TV advert, with trolls using derogatory slurs such as ‘porker’ and ‘council estate’ to describe them.

The advert shows a family of four heading off on their trip and getting free airport lounge access, which is one of the perks of booking with On the Beach.

Chief Customer Officer Zoe Harris said some social media users had been ‘fattist’ when commenting about the family’s size, as well as ‘snobby’ for implying they shouldn’t be entitled to use the airport lounge.

Some viewers even complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the depiction of the family ‘normalised and encouraged rude and greedy behaviour’, On the Beach said.  

One user on X (formerly Twitter) posted: “I hate that On the Beach advert showing the porker family having full access to the lounge and perks… yuk.”

Another said: “The advert for On the Beach says there is free airport lounge access for their customers. Can you imagine the oil executives sharing their airport lounge with riff raff holidaymakers?”

Other posts targeted the ‘son’ in the advert, with one saying: “I hate the fat kid on the On the Beach advert,” and another saying they wanted to ‘beat the cr*p out of… that absolute mess on the On the Beach advert’.

A YouTube user said: “This company is definitely for the council estate family holiday who just want to sit around the pool and eat and drink as much as possible.”

Posting a statement on X, Zoe said: “We’ve seen a lot of fattist, snobby comments about our TV ad and the family we have used. In 2024 some people are still hiding behind keyboards to hurl abuse at a family, including two children?

“This is a polite reminder that everyone has a right to a holiday and everyone has a right to airport lounge access.

“Be Kind. Don’t be a booking idiot online.”

And, in reference to the advert’s tag line, she added: “In fact, be a Booking Genius instead: stick it to the snobs and get free airport lounge access with us. And if they don’t like it, they’re welcome to a £10 pint in departures.”

Earlier this month, 135 complaints were made to the ASA by people who thought TV star Paddy McGuinness, who does the voiceover for the advert, was swearing.

The ASA dismissed those complaints. It also said it didn’t agree with the four people who complained the ad encouraged rude and greedy behaviour.  

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