"Word play" has landed the budget airline in hot water

The advert proclaimed a 'one million flight giveaway' as long as customers paid taxes, fees and airport charges.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the advert which ran in the Daily Mirror newspaper was "ambiguous".

The judgement could mean companies wishing to use the term giveaway will have to prove in future that deals are genuinely free.

"If something is being described as a "giveaway", consumers shouldn't have to spend a penny," an ASA spokeswoman said.

The ASA investigation followed complaints from the Passenger Shipping Association and the Consumers' Association.

Both organisations complained that the advert was misleading.

However, Ryanair argued that the term "giveaway" meant "to denote or bestow as a gift or prize" or "to sell very cheaply".

Offensive

This is not the first time that the airline has fallen foul of the ASA.

In February the airline was deemed to have used offensive language in an advert.

Published just before bonfire night, the advert depicted fireworks with the headline "Fawking great offers."