Avis updates advert after car-less Sark "gaffe"

Wednesday 26 April 2017

One of the world's biggest car hire companies has made a “gesture of goodwill” to the people of Sark after their marketing campaign hit a bump in the road by using a picture of the car-free Island to advertise summer rentals.

Avis thanked islanders for pointing out their ‘car-less’ use of an image of La Coupée - the narrow piece of land connecting Sark and Little Sark – which they had used on a 20% off promotion despite the fact that the Island only allows tractors, horse-drawn vehicles and bikes.

The image has since been updated to Oregon’s Bridge Creek, with the company making a donation to the recently-opened Sark Sanctuary Centre – a multipurpose community facility – in apology for the “inadvertent gaffe."

Pictured: The updated online advertisement, featuring a site in Oregon, US.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank the people of Sark for bringing this to our attention, and we hope we haven’t disappointed too many of our customers with the fact that the island’s spectacular roads are indeed off-limits to cars.

“Our webpage has now been updated with an image of Big Creek Bridge in Oregon, which is a popular destination for car rentals over the summer months.

“As a gesture of goodwill and to apologise for our inadvertent gaffe, we will be making a donation to the Sark Sanctuary Centre, which we know is going to make a big difference to local people and businesses in the community.”