Complaint against BMW TV advert showing 'unsafe driving' upheld

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled the complaint against BMW should be upheld. Photo/ 123RF

A complaint accusing a luxury car company of glorifying speed and unsafe driving has been upheld.

The complaint was lodged against BMW with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), saying the 30-second-long television advertisement appeared to show one car overtaking another on a blind corner.

In a complaint, S Barns said the ad, which appeared on TV and online in April and May, appeared to encourage racing on the open road.

"The advert shows two BMW cars racing along South Island roads.

"The two cars appear to race around a blind corner - one car in each lane. The clip is pretty quick, so it is hard to see whether there is an additional lane for a car that may come the other way, but regardless of whether there is, this message of racing on the open road is irresponsible."

BMW argued a disclaimer appearing at the start of the ad saying it had been shot overseas on closed roads.

"We do not believe this advertisement is glorifying speed or portraying unsafe driving
practices," the company said in response to the complaint.

However the ASA complaints board said the message only showed up intermittently during the ad and the colour and size of the print made it difficult to read, which went against guidelines set out by the New Zealand Transport Agency .

The guidelines require in part that: "Disclaimers should be on-screen for the duration of the illegal driving practice on NZ roads, and in a font size and colour that can easily be read by a typical viewer."

The board considered the disclaimer should have been visible in all the road
scenes shown in the advertisement.

The ASA board referred to Principle 2 of the Code for Advertising Vehicles which
requires advertisements not to encourage unsafe driving.

It agreed the advertisement gave an impression of reckless driving and glorified speed and this was compounded by the initial sound of acceleration, the flashing of images related to speed and upbeat music accompanying the advertisement.

The majority of the board felt the combination of these factors reached the threshold to glorify speed and therefore the advertisement had not been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility.

The complaint was upheld.