Ad description
A TV ad for the Mini Electric, seen in April 2023. The ad featured scenes of a Mini Electric being driven through city streets, as the camera moved around the car, showing interior and exterior shots, while upbeat music played over the scenes. At one point, as the car took a corner, the camera passed the car, going in the opposite direction. A voiceover stated, “Mini Electric feels good. And now including a complimentary home charging wallbox, it feels even better. Book a 24-hour test drive, and feel it for yourself.”
Issue
The complainant, who believed that the ad depicted the car being driven at an inappropriate speed and in an inappropriate manner for the urban setting, challenged whether the ad breached the Code.
Response
BMW UK Ltd did not believe that the ad condoned or encouraged dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible driving. They said they took road safety seriously, and all filming had been conducted in a safe and legal manner. The ad's tone was intended to be fun and upbeat, so had been filmed in a busy urban environment, shown from a human perspective, at street level.
BMW said that the car had not been driven in excess of the speed limits, and that the driver had followed the rules of the road at all times, while paying due care and attention to the urban surroundings. They highlighted that both of the driver’s hands remained on the steering wheel, and their eyes remained on the road ahead, throughout the ad.
Referencing a scene in which the car passed a public basketball court, BMW said that it was not exceeding the speed limit, or being driven in a dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible manner as it passed the court. They said that the court was in a secure, enclosed space with high fencing, with no pedestrian access or exit points on the roadside. BMW saw no danger or risk to the players from the passing car.
Referencing a shot of the car turning a corner, BMW said they did not accept that it was shown doing so in a manner that infringed the Highway Code, or encouraged unsafe or dangerous driving. They said that there were no central lines on the roads to separate the lanes, and that the driver was shown travelling at an appropriate speed at all times, while signalling their manoeuvre before cornering. They did not believe the ad showed the driver needing to make a sudden or aggressive steering correction in order to keep the car in a straight line after cornering. They believed that the driver had taken the corner in a manner which had not infringed the Highway Code, or encouraged unsafe or dangerous driving.
Clearcast said they did not believe the “story” of the ad involved a context of speed. They thought that the combination of the car passing the camera, and the camera tracking left at speed, seen at one point in the ad, had been misinterpreted as the car driving in a fast manner.
Assessment
Not upheld
The BCAP Code stated that ads must not condone or encourage dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible driving.
At the beginning of the ad the car was shown being loaded with items, before being driven at a moderate speed through quiet city streets. During the ad, the car was seen making turns into other streets on a number of occasions. The ASA noted that some of those turns were filmed with the camera passing the car, tracking in the opposite direction. We considered that while those camera shots created a sense of speed of movement, the actual speed of the car was not likely to be seen by viewers as excessive or irresponsible. We also considered that, during the cornering manoeuvres, the car was driven in a sensible and safe manner.
We noted that after one scene of the car negotiating a corner, an internal shot of the car’s occupants showed the driver handling the steering wheel. However, we did not consider that viewers would interpret that shot as having depicted a steering correction, or as an indication of dangerous or irresponsible driving.
At one point the car was shown moving from one side of the road to the other, coming into the view of the following camera. We noted that the shot of the car moving across the road did not directly follow a cornering manoeuvre, and there were no central lines in the road the car was being driven on. We considered that the car was driven in a safe manner, and at a reasonable speed, in that scene.
We acknowledged that the ad was filmed in an urban setting and that the car was shown passing pedestrians, a basketball court and local shops. However, we did not consider that any of those scenes showed the car being driven in a dangerous, inconsiderate or irresponsible manner. While we acknowledged that the style of the ad’s camerawork contributed to a sense of motion, the car was not seen driving at an inappropriate speed or in an inappropriate manner for its surroundings.
Because we considered that the ad did not condone or encourage dangerous or irresponsible driving, we concluded that it did not breach the Code.
We investigated the ad under BCAP Code rule 20.1 (Motoring), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action required.
