Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Israeli tourism posters banned by watchdog over controversial map

ASA censures adverts for misleadingly implying that West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights were part of the state of Israel
Guardian, By Mark Sweney (15/7/2009)
A tourism campaign depicting the areas of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights as part of Israel has been banned by the advertising watchdog following hundreds of complaints.

The poster campaign, run by the Israeli Government Tourist Office, ran with the headline "experience Israel" with a picture of a boy snorkelling with dolphins. The ad featured a map of Israel that included the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights...
The State of Israel Ministry of Tourism, replying on behalf of the IGTO, said the map was a "general schematic tourism and travel map, rather than a political map". SIMT argued that the complaints were political in nature and not relevant to a tourist ad...