Ad description
A tweet by Land Rover, seen on 31 May 2023, stated “Fashionably late is out of fashion. Because 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds can look like this. #RangeRoverSportSV” alongside an image of an individual wearing sunglasses in a barren landscape, standing in front of a blurred image of the rear of a car, that had made a dust trail.
Issue
Three complainants challenged whether the ad was irresponsible because it focused on the vehicle’s speed and acceleration.
Response
Jaguar Land Rover highlighted that the ad’s primary focus was on the style of the brand, rather than the speed of the vehicle. They also emphasised that the image had been taken on a closed track on private land and the vehicle had been travelling at 20mph. They further explained that the dust cloud was created because the surface of the track was extremely dusty, and did not believe that cloud indicated the vehicle was travelling at speed. They also highlighted that the entire background, including the cactus and track surface, was blurred. Because the blurring effect applied to the whole background, they believed it did not imply that the vehicle was travelling at speed.
They explained the message “fashionably late is out of fashion” was intended to suggest that consumers should avoid being late to avoid speeding. They further explained that the text “because 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds can look like this” referred to the look and attitude of the model, the focus of the image, who looked calm and sophisticated because she had arrived on time. They emphasised that the overall message of the ad was the model having been dropped off on time, and that arriving in a timely fashion without speeding would allow consumers to remain calm and “cool”.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that advertisers must not make speed or acceleration the main message of their ads.
The ad featured an image of a blurred car with a model in the foreground. The ASA considered that the blurring of the car implied that it was travelling at speed and that the large dust cloud trail made by the car further added to that impression. The ad also stated “Fashionably late is out of fashion. Because 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds can look like this”. We understood that 0-60mph was a prominent metric used as a performance measure for acceleration and considered that reaching this speed in under 4 seconds would be considered fast by consumers. We acknowledged Jaguar Land Rover’s comments that the car had been travelling at 20mph when the ad was shot and that their intention was to focus on the model’s demeanour rather than the speed of the car. Notwithstanding that, we considered, within the context of the ad and the car travelling at apparent speed in the background, consumers would understand the text to mean that punctuality could be achieved by accelerating quickly. Furthermore, we considered the text, alongside the image of the model, portrayed accelerating quickly as fashionable, and therefore, promoted it in a positive light.
Because the ad suggested that drivers could rapidly accelerate and travel at speed to ensure they would not be late, we concluded that the ad made speed and acceleration the main message of the ad.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 19.4 (Motoring).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Jaguar Land Rover Ltd to ensure their ads did not make speed and acceleration the main message of their ads in future.
