Scottish government's Edinburgh Zoo panda advert banned

A Scottish government advert has been banned for suggesting China had "gifted" two pandas to Edinburgh Zoo.

The press advert stated "the Chinese are gifting two giant pandas to live in Scotland, under the custodianship of Edinburgh Zoo".

But two animal charities complained that the text was misleading as the pandas had actually been leased to the zoo at a substantial price.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the advert was misleading.

It had featured in newspapers under the headline: "Celebration of links between Scotland and China as pandas arrive in Edinburgh".

It went on to state: "Now, in a symbolic gesture of friendship between the countries, and following five years of political and diplomatic talks, the Chinese are gifting two giant pandas to live in Scotland, under the custodianship of Edinburgh Zoo."

We considered that consumers would interpret the terms 'gift' and 'gifting' to mean that the pandas were given without payment”

The text continued: "The pandas' presence in Scotland is a sign of a strengthened alliance with China, and opens up new opportunities in trade, culture and education with the world's fastest growing economy."

Animal Concern and Scotland for Animals complained that the advert misleadingly suggested Tian Tian and Yang Guang, who arrived at the Zoo in December, were a free gift when they understood they had been leased to the charity which owned Edinburgh Zoo by China at a substantial cost.

Defending the advert, the Scottish government said no money was due to be paid by either the UK or Scottish governments to the Chinese authorities for the two pandas.

It explaining the charity which owned Edinburgh Zoo would pay an agreed annual sum to the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association that would go directly towards Giant Panda conservation projects in the wild.

However the ASA upheld the complaint, saying: "We considered that consumers would interpret the terms 'gift' and 'gifting' to mean that the pandas were given without payment.

"Although we acknowledged that the Scottish government had not made any payment, we considered that the sum paid by the charity that owned Edinburgh Zoo would be considered by consumers to be a commercial arrangement.

"In the absence of text stating that the 'gift' was in exchange for a substantial payment, we considered that the claim 'in a symbolic gesture of friendship between the countries' in conjunction with the terms 'gift' and 'gifting' implied that the pandas were provided by China for free.

"Because that was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading."

It ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form and added: "We told the Scottish government not to imply in future that the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo were provided without payment."