ASA Adjudication on Famosa Toys Ltd

Ad

A TV ad for Dareway, a battery operated self-balancing scooter, featured a boy and girl riding a Dareway scooter against a white background. Both children wore sunglasses, backpacks and outdoor jackets. Voiceover stated: “It’s radically different. It’s totally new. Dareway. It’s the only authentic Dareway. A boy wearing a bright orange outdoor coat and a blue backpack walked past the children and said “wow.” Voiceover stated: “Some just walk and others Dareway.”

Issue

The viewer thought the ad was misleading because it did not make clear that Dareway could legally be used only on private property not public roads or pavements.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Famosa Toys Ltd ("Famosa") said they had sold battery operated vehicles in the UK for a number of years and were fully aware of the UK legal requirements.  They said  the UK restriction which prohibited Dareway from being used on public pavements was included in their instruction leaflet.  They said the ad deliberately avoided showing outdoor places.  They said the white colour background and childrens clothes were chosen to create a modern and dynamic atmosphere and were intended to show the use of Dareway in a private setting.  Famosa argued that the product was aimed at children aged five to 10 years whose parents would not allow their children to play on the pavement.

Famosa said they planned to revise the ad to include additional stockists and offered to add on-screen text that made clear the product was a toy only and was not to be used on public roads or pavements.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre ("BACC") argued that, because the ad was filmed in a very stylised way on a white background, it did not imply that the toy could be used in public places.  They concluded that viewers would not be misled.  The BACC considered that Dareway was a toy, similar to a remote-controlled car.  They argued that consumers were familiar with the restrictions on the use of remote controlled cars and similar products and that the ad did not need to state those restrictions.  They argued that Famosa had taken care to ensure that the whole ad was very stylised and unrealistic and that it focused on the actual toy rather than where and how it was used.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA understood that it was unlawful to ride a self-balancing scooter on a public highway or pavement.  We welcomed Famosas offer to revise their ad to include on-screen text that made clear the product was a toy only and was not to be used on public roads or pavements.  

We noted that the children appeared against a white background and that no outdoor places were shown.  However, we also noted that the children wore jackets, backpacks and sunglasses.  We considered that viewers were likely to assume that the children could use Dareway on public property, both from their appearance and the fact that another child, not part of the group, walked past and exclaimed "Wow" when he saw them on Dareway.  We considered that the voiceover at the end of the ad,  "Some just walk and others Dareway",  implied that the product could be used on public roads or pavements.  

We considered that, without qualifying text that made clear the restrictions on the products use, viewers might infer that the product could be used on public roads or pavements.  We concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading Advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications), 5.2.3 (Qualifications).

Action

The ad should not be shown again in the same form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)