Toyota ad to be pulled following dangerous driving ruling
Ad Standards has ruled against a TVC for the Toyota Yaris for what it cites as a scene of dangerous driving, in which a man rushes to drive out of his shed to his parents’ anniversary dinner.
As part of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Voluntary Code of Practice for Motor Vehicle Advertising (FCAI code), advertisements must not portray scenes of unsafe driving that would breach any commonwealth, state or territory law in which the ad is published.
The community panel ruled that the back tyres of the car appearing to lose traction as it is driven out of the shed infringed by the Australian road rules, which states that ‘a driver must not drive a vehicle unless the driver has proper control of the vehicle’, and therefore the ad breached the FCAI code.
The ad follows three siblings as they speak to each other via hands-free call features in the Yaris vehicles about how they all forgot their parents anniversary.
The complaint, which put the advertisement in front of the community panel for consideration, was concerned about the promotion of speeding as three siblings all hurried to the family event after each forgetting, in particular the son who beat his sisters to the house and managed to pick up a cake on the way.
The community panel also deliberated on the concern of speeding. The FCAI code also dictates that advertisements must not portray people driving at speeds in excess of speed limits in the jurisdiction in Australia in which the ad is published.
The panel considered that the drivers did not appear to drive in a manner in excess of speed limits, despite the impression of speed given by the dust stirred up by the man’s vehicle. And despite the theme of being late to an event giving a sense of speed, there was no indication that any vehicle was exceeding the speed limit, including a lack of clear indication of what the speed limits on the roads depicted were.
Therefore, the panel dismissed concerns of the speed, but upheld the complaint due to the depiction of dangerous driving. Toyota responded to the ruling by removing the ad from broadcast and taking steps to modify it for future use.
