A complaint about an ‘unrealistic’ African savannah advert shown on television by Chessington World of Adventures has been rejected, writes Alessia Nava.

A mother complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Zufari ride advert saying her eight-year-old daughter thought she was going to Africa.

The commercial showed two children walking in the middle of an African plain with the sun rising over distant mountains with a voiceover saying ‘expect the unexpected’.

Chessington World of Adventures said the advert used creative licence to create a ‘heightened sense of reality’ but that white rhinos, giraffes, zebra, ostriches, several species of antelope and flamingos did actually feature in the ride.

The company said: “Research showed that people were happy with the experience. This would not be the case if they had been misled by the ad. One complaint is not symptomatic of people being misled or children having unrealistic expectations.”

The ASA said: “Overall, we concluded that the portrayal of the ride in the ad was unlikely to lead to children having unrealistic expectations of the experience of the ride.”