BMW slapped with ASA ban over radio ad that 'exaggerated' its high-beam assist technology
Automaker BMW has been given a slap on the wrist by the Advertising Standards Authority over a radio ad which the watchdog said had misled consumers about the capabilities of the brand’s technology.
The ASA has hit BMW with a ban over a radio ad
The spot, which was created to promote the brand’s 1 Series model has been banned because it contained a voiceover that said: "Oncoming traffic is never dazzled and you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road."
A member of the public complained about the campaign, and challenged whether it was misleading and or if the claims made could be substantiated.
BMW responded by saying that its high beam system detected oncoming traffic at large distances, but acknowledged that the measurements were relevant to straight roads. The firm said that if a vehicle approached from a curve there was a chance it would delay the deployment of the sensors, but asserted that it didn’t think the delay would be long enough for oncoming traffic to be dazzled.
The car company also pointed to the Oxford dictionary’s definition of dazzled, which stipulates that: “if a strong light dazzles you, it is so bright that you cannot see for a short time,” and said that because the system reacted within a split second it was not enough to make someone go blind.
The ASA, however, disagreed and upheld the complaint on the basis that consumers were likely to interpret the claim "oncoming traffic is never dazzled" as an absolute statement, with the understanding that the high beam assist function ensured oncoming drivers were never dazzled under any circumstances.
“We understood that there might be a delay of up to one second before the technology turned the high beam off. We considered that a second of full beam light could potentially dazzle an oncoming driver at short distances, for example, on a sharp bend,” said the watchdog.
"Because of that, we considered that the claim 'oncoming traffic is never dazzled' had not been substantiated and was misleading.”
The ASA has warned BMW not to broadcast the ad again in its current form.