'Vista Travel Agency knew very well that it was going to make the Federal Antimonopoly Service in Sverdlovsk Region unhappy. By launching an advertising campaign as aggressive as theirs, they couldn’t but take into account the possible consequences like the sanctions the Service is highly likely to impose on them,’ Deputy Director of Bosfor Travel Agency Alexei Petrov said to UrBC. The thing is, Vista (half of whose shares (51%) was bought by Finpromco in March 2007) is about to face accusations of violating the federal advertising law and to have a lawsuit filed against them since their ads appear to promote violence. Vista’s ads use slogans like ‘Bury our mother-in-law in the sand for $399’, ‘Throw your mom into the sea for $399’, and ‘I’ll strip my husband of his clothes for $399’.

'In the meanwhile, an ad that does not comply with the legal requirements is not necessarily the most effective one. A modern consumer is looking for value for the money, not for the cheapest tour,’ Mr. Petrov believes.