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Toyota Advertising Standards Authority

Toyota ‘virtual world’ ad banned by ASA for condoning dangerous driving

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

November 14, 2012 | 2 min read

It’s a bad day for Toyota as an ad for the brand has been banned by the ASA for ‘condoning dangerous driving’ - shortly after a band complained they were not asked if their song could be played in a different advert.

The ad, set in a virtual world, showed a man who described himself as ‘not feeling real’ until he gets behind the wheel of the Toyota GT86.

The car was then shown escaping the city and following signs to "the end of the world". The car burst through a glass barrier onto a real road.

Toyota argued that the driver was never shown to be out of control of the car and his behaviour did not endanger himself or others, and that the driving scenes ‘were impossible to emulate’.

The ASA said: “We understood that because the ad was highly stylised and set in a fantasy environment, Toyota believed that the driving scenes featured were impossible to emulate. Whilst we appreciated that in the world where the ad was set, cars could drive themselves, objects could miraculously appear or disappear and certain everyday objects were contraband, we considered that the roads, public spaces and the car featured in the ad were recognisable as such and were not significantly different from those in the real world.

“We therefore considered that the driving featured, and in particular the speeds shown, could be emulated on real roads.”

Toyota Advertising Standards Authority

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