Authority scrutinises car ads

Toyota New Zealand and Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand (MMNZ) have been told they will not face any action after TV viewers complained about their adverts.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released its decisions on three complaints it received, with one targeting Toyota and the other two in relation to a Mitsubishi campaign.

A ThreeNow OnDemand viewer raised concerns about a Toyota New Zealand advert, part of the company’s Let’s Go Places brand campaign, based on the concept the marque’s cars are so prevalent in New Zealand that looking at any intersection would look like an ad. 

They noted the TV commercial, pictured above, repeatedly says “this is not an ad”, which they believed was a breach of the ASA’s truthful presentation rule because “it may confuse viewers to believe that it is not, in fact, an ad”.

In its decision, the ASA explains the complaints board chair considered the context, medium and audience of the advertisement, the product or service being advertised and, when applicable, generally prevailing community standards. They also considered decisions about similar issues or advertising.

“The chair ruled the issue you raised does not reach the threshold to breach the relevant Advertising Standards Authority codes and we will not be taking any further action,” the decision states.

F-bomb concern

Two other viewers recently laid complaints with the ASA after seeing an MMNZ advert for its Outlander model on TV.

The commercial shows how Kiwi families might use the vehicle but one complainant was unhappy when a child shown in the backseat of a car says “Oh, fudge” as they make a turn at an intersection.

“The child said fudge, but I feel it was obvious what she was likely to say,” the viewer says. 

“I feel the use of the F-bomb is too common, and so unnecessary. Yes, it was 9.30 on a Sunday evening, and the majority of children should be away from the TV, but these programmes can be recorded and played at any time of the day.”

The ASA notes the complaint related to decency and offensiveness.

A second complaint, related to anti-social behaviour rules, says the advert suggests it is okay to litter. Their gripe is based on the final scene where food falls out of the car as the children leave the vehicle and the mother simply closes the door and leaves the waste on the ground.

In both cases the complaints board chair ruled the issues raised did not reach the threshold to breach the advertising standards and no further action is necessary.