When it comes to bringing out enticing commercials that spur you on and make you want to just go out, get in your car and drive, it looks like a very fine balance must be kept. That’s particularly true if we’re to discuss about a recent ban on UK television sets for a BMW xDrive commercial which was only meant to emphasize on the safety the system brings to the table. Apparently, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decided it portrayed dangerous behavior and had it pulled from TV networks.
According to the ruling, the ASA claims that “the demonstration of the capability of the xDrive system condoned faster, dangerous and irresponsible driving… presented in the context of excitement”. One particular shot which drew their attention was the BMW X5 going through the woods or “appearing to skid on a dirt trail”, an instance deemed too dangerous by the ruling authority from the UK.
If you know anything about BMW X5 owners, you probably already know that the chances of an SAV actually doing that sort of thing are slim to none. Nevertheless, the ASA apparently wouldn’t hear BMW’s plea, which said that the car was just showing “a slight reduction in traction” and wasn’t to be perceived as dangerous in any given context. To make thing even more interesting, it looks like only one person of the 9.3 million viewers complained about the ad and it was seemingly enough.
The ad is posted below and you can very well check for yourselves if it seems like it is breaching the advertising codes en force in the UK. According to the ruling, the BMW xDrive ad broke three of them, encouraging “dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible driving” and demonstrating “power, acceleration or handling characteristics except in a clear context of safety”.
