Broadcasting & Television Magazine - Monday 2 May, 2005

Two Toyota ads face ASB review

By Maria Nguyen
 

Two of Saatchi & Saatchi’s TVCs for Toyota have been the subject of consumer complaints and will be reviewed by national complaints body, the Advertising Standards Bureau(ASB).

Saatchi & Saatchi’s ‘Move Over’ commercial for Toyota Hilux, which has been on air since April 3, and its recently launched ‘Knives’ ad for the Camry Sportivo V6, will both be reviewed in the coming weeks by the ASB for potential breaches of the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ code of ethics and the voluntary code of practice set out by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

The FCIA Code does not permit ads that contain scenes of unsafe driving practices that would breach any actual road laws, while the AANA code of ethics covers health and safety concerns in advertising.

In the Hilux ad, the ute is shown blowing away all other cars as it drives through a carpark, city streets and country roads. It ends with the tagline ‘Get in or get out of the way’. The Camry ‘Knives’ad features a car crash.

Referring to the Hilux TVC, chairman of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, Harold Scruby, said it was “over the top and not acceptable”.

“We’ve never had so many complaints…corporate responsibility is so important these days and Toyota should be promoting safer driving,”Scruby said.
 


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