Jaguar car advert banned for encouraging unsafe driving
A Jaguar car advert with the slogan ‘Good to be bad’ has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for encouraging unsafe driving.
The ad, which featured a host of British acting talent including Tom Middleton poked fun at the Hollywood trope of the British supervillain.
Justifying its decision the ASA said: “… acceleration and speed did feature in the ad when the car was shown driving up the ramp to exit the underground car park and when it was shown being driven on a public road at night. The noise of acceleration and the speed with which the car went up the ramp in the car park appeared to suggest significant speed within an enclosed environment.
“We also considered significant speed was suggested when the car accelerated on the public road after the character said "Now brace yourselves" and again when the car exited a tunnel and sped away from other cars on the road. Whilst on-screen text stated "Professional driver. Closed course. Always obey speed limits", we considered the overall impression consumers would take from those scenes was of a car being driven on a public road (with other cars present) at speed and that the on-screen text would not negate that impression.
“Whilst we acknowledged the sequences were brief, we considered that the second part of the ad suggested that the car was being driven at excessive speeds and that the ad therefore encouraged irresponsible driving.”