So this happened: in the United Kingdom, Ford, FCA and Nissan recently had their advertisements banned because, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), they were too much for viewers to take. Here’s the breakdown: a Fiat advertisement was kicked after the ASA complained that the implication that four different models that were running on a Hot Wheels-like track “would not be immediately obvious to or understood by many consumers” and that the advertisement “portrayed the cars racing and being driven in a manner that condoned or encouraged unsafe or irresponsible driving”. Wow. Nissan got an ad kicked because a Micra was “driving at excessive speed”. And the Mustang ad, which I’ve attached, was banned because twelve people complained that the advertisement showed driving, especially driving aggressively, as a way of releasing anger.
Are…you…f**king…kidding….me…
I don’t live in the U.K., or Europe, or anywhere abroad. I haven’t since I left Mosul back in 2008. But for the love of all that is holy…because twelve people got offended due to the quoting of Dylan Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night” paired off with people who have had obviously shitty days, escaping that crappy reality with the aid of a Mustang’s V8 bark, now an entire advertisement has to be shelved? Holy shit, what would these people have done twenty years ago if Pontiac’s 1998 “Hungry” commercial for the Trans Am had made it to the airwaves? “Oh, don’t look, Margaret, that evil, vulgar American thing is about to swallow up that poor, defenseless little coupe up in one bite, then belch quite rudely!” Or go back further, to the days of Dodge Charger commercials that hinted that if you drove the right car, chances were good that your nerdy ass was about to be the life of the party, if you get my drift.
The Fiat and Nissan bans are a joke. Seeing Fiats on anything even kind of resembling the Hot Wheels test tracks is about the first positive thing I can picture about the brand. And anybody saying that a Nissan Micra was “driving at excessive speed” needs to have their head examined, every last one of them. Oddly enough, the Micra ad was showcasing the car’s intelligence and safety features, but quoting the ASA, because there was no indications of what the limits were in the scenes depicted, it was implied that the “character had increased the speed of the vehicle because they were in a rush.” Will the ASA only be happy with an advertisement where the car is parked and a voice over speaks in a non-aggressive manner about the car’s positive features that don’t offend anyone’s sensibilities? You can say “Ford Mustang”, even “new Ford Mustang” if it’s appropriate. You can’t talk engine size, lest you offend the greenies. You can’t talk about the emotions the car feeds the driver, because that might be too lewd. What’s left?
A couple of years ago, for Dodge’s 100th anniversary, they put out an ad that had a bunch of centenarians giving life advice, that ended with a gentleman ripping a monster burnout in a Challenger. Depending on which version you saw, some interpreted the final hand gesture out of the window as the middle finger (though, in the versions I can still find on YouTube, he flashes the “devil horns” rock salute). I’d take an advertisement that leaves the passion, emotion and yes, even a little bit of delinquency in versus the all-sterile setup that the ASA thinks is best for everybody.
Oh Puleese. Sounds like someone is just touting their authority.
I saw nothing wrong with this ad, everyone needs an escape from stress.
Wow an extremely upsetting commercial to the looser\’s in power they must be agent orange fans trying to hold back sales of the camaro killer. LOL
I was in the UK recently and the new right hand drive Mustangs are really cool. Chevy and Dodge don’t have right hand drive muscle cars yet, so no competition, don’t worry. They seem to be selling, even without this advert!
Welcome to the US of the very near future. We are heading down the exact same libersl path as the U.K. and the rest of Europe.