Background
Ad description
A tweet that appeared on BMW's UK Twitter feed and as a promoted tweet on the complainant's Twitter news feed stated "Capable of 0-62mph in just 4.8 seconds, the new #BMW M235i promises you one hell of a ride: po.st/TEST2". The ad also featured an image of a red BMW turning a corner, with the background blurred.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the image, the reference to quick acceleration and the phrase "one hell of a ride" made acceleration the central message of the ad and encouraged excessive speed.
Response
BMW (UK) Ltd said the tweet did not depict speed in any way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or break the law, but communicated the acceleration statistics of the vehicle coupled with a message to communicate the driving dynamics of the M235i. They believed the picture implied some movement, but excessive speed was not depicted. They said the "one hell of a ride" referred to the overall driving dynamics of the car and sought to communicate the car's excellent handling and sporty driving characteristics, which was the main message of the tweet. They said the fact that the acceleration was quoted in the text did not suggest that the car in the image was driving faster than the speed limit on a public road, nor that it should be driven in such a fashion, but were included to emphasise the car's driving characteristics.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted that rule
19.2
19.2
Marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. If it could be emulated, marketing communications must not depict a driving practice that is likely to condone or encourage a breach of those rules of the Highway Code that are legal requirements if that driving practice seems to take place on a public road or in a public space. Vehicles' capabilities may be demonstrated on a track or circuit if it is obviously not in use as a public highway.
of the CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving and rule
19.3
19.3
Marketing communications must not depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or to break the law.
To avoid the implication of irresponsible driving through excessive speed, care must be taken in the style of presentation of marketing communications. Particular care must be taken in, for example, cinema commercials and in marketing communications that appear in electronic media to avoid moving images that imply excessive speed. If they are shown in normal driving circumstances on public roads, vehicles must be seen not to exceed UK speed limits.
stated they must not depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or to break the law. We noted that the highest speed quoted in the ad was 62 mph and we agreed that although consumers might associate the blurred background in the image with speed, it did not depict excessive speed and was unlikely to encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. We also noted that the text “one hell of a ride” did not necessarily relate to excessive speed. For those reasons, we considered that the ad did not breach rules
19.2
19.2
Marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. If it could be emulated, marketing communications must not depict a driving practice that is likely to condone or encourage a breach of those rules of the Highway Code that are legal requirements if that driving practice seems to take place on a public road or in a public space. Vehicles' capabilities may be demonstrated on a track or circuit if it is obviously not in use as a public highway.
and
19.3
19.3
Marketing communications must not depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or to break the law.
To avoid the implication of irresponsible driving through excessive speed, care must be taken in the style of presentation of marketing communications. Particular care must be taken in, for example, cinema commercials and in marketing communications that appear in electronic media to avoid moving images that imply excessive speed. If they are shown in normal driving circumstances on public roads, vehicles must be seen not to exceed UK speed limits.
We noted that rule 19.4 19.4 Marketers must not make speed or acceleration the main message of their marketing communications. Marketing communications may give general information about a vehicle's performance, such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power, road-holding and top speed. of the CAP Code stated that marketers must not make speed or acceleration the main message of their marketing communications. We considered BMW’s comments that the ad was designed to highlight the driving characteristics of the car and that they believed speed was not the main message of the ad. However, we also noted that the text of the ad described the fast acceleration of the car directly before describing it as “one hell of a ride”. We considered that the cumulative effect of the references to speed in the text and the image was to make speed and acceleration the main message of the ad overall. For this reason, we concluded that the ad breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
19.4
19.4
Marketers must not make speed or acceleration the main message of their marketing communications. Marketing communications may give general information about a vehicle's performance, such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power, road-holding and top speed.
(Motoring), but did not breach rules
19.2
19.2
Marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. If it could be emulated, marketing communications must not depict a driving practice that is likely to condone or encourage a breach of those rules of the Highway Code that are legal requirements if that driving practice seems to take place on a public road or in a public space. Vehicles' capabilities may be demonstrated on a track or circuit if it is obviously not in use as a public highway.
and
19.3
19.3
Marketing communications must not depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or to break the law.
To avoid the implication of irresponsible driving through excessive speed, care must be taken in the style of presentation of marketing communications. Particular care must be taken in, for example, cinema commercials and in marketing communications that appear in electronic media to avoid moving images that imply excessive speed. If they are shown in normal driving circumstances on public roads, vehicles must be seen not to exceed UK speed limits.
(Motoring).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told BMW (UK) Ltd to ensure they did not make speed or acceleration the main message of their future marketing communications.
