Ford Mustang Advert Banned For Apparently Encouraging Dangerous Driving
Take a look at the video above. Seems fairly innocuous, doesn’t it? If you ask the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), however, and the 12 people who somehow found the time to complain about the cinema-aired advert, and you’ll be told it encourages using “driving as a way of relieving anger”. Erm, does it?
Ford’s response to the complaints was that the “intention was to contrast the everyday frustrations of work life with the freedom of driving a new Ford Mustang,” the ASA report states. The organisation disagreed, however, taking particular exception to the manner in which the Mustang was driven out of the car park nearer the end of the advert.
The ASA even had an issue with the recital of the famous Dylan Thomas poem ‘Do not go gentle into that goodnight’. Specifically, with the line “Rage. Rage, against the dying of the light”. The ASA said that parts of the poem “further reinforced that [releasing pent-up aggression while driving] by encouraging motorists to drive in an aggressive manner.”
The advert was deemed to have broken CAP (Committees of Advertising Practice) code 19.2, which states that “Marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving”. The advert can’t be shown again in its current form (although it is - at time of writing - still on YouTube), and Ford has been warned “that their advertising must not encourage unsafe driving.”
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Bruh
They make an advert for the 5.0 knowing that people will get the 2.5.
That is why they made this advert
There is no 2.5 litre Mustang, only 2.3 and 5.0
Except in america its the 5.0
for the first year the 5.0 outsold the ecoboost in the UK
Are you kidding me… and they allow a hankook tire commercial with a BMW drifting on a dangerous mountain pass… this is dumb
I honestly think this case is probably the most far-fetched, tenuous example of a car advert encouraging “dangerous driving”.
Remember the advert of the (i think?) Peugeot where the GPS took the driver on the completely wrong route, because there was a country road that was more fun? Surely that’s worse than this?
And hasn’t there been adverts for superminis where they’ve been doing stunt driving around multistory carparks, through shopping centres and all kinds?
It always seems to be the sportier cars that get hit by this rediculousness, and never the superminis
laughs in American
how is this possible?
Those no gender stupid vegans strike again :P
This is like alcohol adverts. You can’t show people getting drunk and ain’t fun, even though that is what the alcohol industry is all about. And Mustangs aren’t built to drive at 30mph yet advertisers have to pretend that they are. If you don’t want people to drive cars fast on the road, why allow fast road cars to be built?
Shut the hell up don’t give the dirty liberals ideas.
Oh no a car is driving while a famous poem is being recited! BURN THEM!!!