The case can be told in a few lines: the Advertising Authority of the United Kingdom decided to ban the showing of the advertising film for the new Volkswagen Polo , based on the argument that this promoted, among drivers, an “excessive” confidence in the systems to help driving and safety.
In the film, which we remind you here, it is the active safety systems, such as blind spot monitoring, that end up preventing a young driver and his frightened father, both aboard a new generation Volkswagen Polo, from being hit by a truck. Or even that, thanks to automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, they run over a young girl crossing the road.
Seeking to extol the advantages of the presence of these equipments, the film ended up also motivating complaints from six consumers, with the Advertising Authority of the United Kingdom. This, on the accusation of promoting dangerous driving, by overestimating the benefits of vehicle safety systems.
Volkswagen argues
Confronted with the accusations, Volkswagen sought to counter these opinions, arguing that nothing in the film “promotes or encourages dangerous, competitive, inattentive or irresponsible driving”. Preferring to describe the driver who is portrayed in advertising as "clumsy, unlucky and prone to accidents", something that will leave no doubt in the scenes he stars, "comically exaggerated".
As for the situations themselves, Volkswagen also defends that it would be impossible to show the added value of its security systems, without showing how they act in dangerous situations. Even though, he emphasizes, these have been shown in “a precise and responsible way”.
Advertising Authority Takes Position
Despite the builder's arguments, the truth is that the UK Advertising Authority ended up ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, considering that, by promoting “trust” in security systems, the film also promotes irresponsible driving.
UK High Authority for AdvertisingIt is concluded that the reliance on advanced security systems shown in the film leads to an exaggeration of its effectiveness, with the general tone of the advertisement inviting irresponsible driving. As such, it constitutes a breach of the Code, so that advertising film cannot continue to be shown, and we have already warned Volkswagen not to encourage irresponsible driving, by exaggerating the benefits of the safety systems present in vehicles.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel.