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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

July 16, 2014 | 2 min read

Jaguar Land Rover has had an ad on its YouTube channel banned after it was found to encourage unsafe driving.

"The Art of Villainy" ad, part of Jaguar’s Good to be Bad campaign, starred Thor actor Tom Hiddleston driving a Jaguar F-Type in an underground car park and on a public road.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a complaint from a viewer who said the ad was socially irresponsible for encouraging speeding.

Jaguar said the ad was set ‘almost entirely’ in an underground car park and during that time the car barely moved. The car maker said it believed the ad focused on the appearance of the car along with the engine performance – there was a ‘brief revving’ of the engine – and that the brief moment of acceleration shown was not excessive.

The ASA disagreed and said in its ruling that “significant speed” was suggested when the car accelerated on the public road after the character said ‘now brace yourselves’ and the overall impression consumers would take from those scenes was of a car being driven on a public road.

The watchdog concluded that the ad suggested the car was being driven at excessive speeds and therefore encouraged irresponsible driving.

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

ASA Land Rover

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