Ad description
A radio ad for a car dealership selling the BMW 2 Series Coupe. The ad featured a conversation between a male and a female over upbeat background music. The male asked the female "Go on, what did it look like?" The female replied "It looked like, I don't know, it looked like a panther all curled up and ready to spring", to which the male said "Frightening, I guess." They both laughed. The female said "Almost, it looked sinewy and powerful like it was alive really." The male then asked "What did you do next?" The female responded "I walked all the way around. I've never seen symmetry like it, the lines just flow with movement." The male then asked "What about inside?" The female said "Plush, luxurious, ergonomic, the seats kind of cradle you. It's exciting, couldn't resist stroking the steering wheel, gripping it with my fingers you know?" The male asked "How did it make you feel?" The female replied "I wanted to drive it, I mean really drive it." Another male voice-over then stated "Anna's seen the brand new BMW 2 Series Coupe. I'm Toby from Chandlers BMW. The BMW 2 Series Coupe is yours on BMW finance for just £299 per month right now at your local Chandlers BMW. Representative APR 5.9%. Test drive it today at Chandlers BMW.” The female voice-over then stated "You have got to get in one of these."
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad, which featured a presenter from the radio station on which the ad was broadcast, was obviously distinguishable from editorial content.
Response
Bright FM, who produced the ad and was also responsible for clearing the ad, said that they approached Chandlers Brighton BMW with the idea for the ad based on the launch of the new car model.
Bright FM believed the ad complied with Ofcom guidelines for 'Commercial Communication in Radio Programming', in particular, rules 10.1 and 10.2. They stated that, in order to comply with the relevant Ofcom rules, they ensured that the ad was scheduled and only aired during commercial breaks. They provided a copy of the transmission report that detailed the dates and times at which the ad was played.
Bright FM said that commercial breaks at their radio station were clearly signposted for listeners and provided recordings of typical commercial breaks during programming. They said that their commercial breaks would typically start with a sponsorship credit and ended with station imaging. They said that the ad in question would have been played in between other ads during commercial breaks. Bright FM also said that no reference to the ad was made by any of their presenters during programming content outside of the commercial breaks and provided details of the other ads played during the commercial breaks in which the ad complained about was aired.
Bright FM also believed that it was clear from the script that the ad was a commercial message and not editorial content, particularly in light of the male voice-over towards the end of the ad, "I'm Toby from Chandlers BMW. The BMW 2 Series Coupe is yours on BMW finance for just £299 per month right now at your local Chandlers BMW. Representative APR 5.9%."
Chandlers Garages (Brighton) BMW did not make any further comments.
Assessment
Not Upheld
The ASA noted the complainant's concerns that by featuring a presenter from the radio station on which the ad was played, it could give listeners the impression that Bright FM was endorsing the product and that the presenter was merely discussing the car that she had driven during regular programming.
Although the presenter featured in the ad had a weekly programme on Bright FM, we noted from the transmission report that the ad had not been played in commercial breaks during that presenter's programme. We recognised that regular listeners of Bright FM were likely to be familiar with the voice of the presenter featured. However, we noted that it was only revealed towards the end of the ad that the female voice-over was the presenter in question as stated by the second male voice-over, who then proceeded to identify himself as the advertiser and introduced the product that was referred to during the prior exchange.
We noted that listeners might associate the upbeat background music in the ad with the background music typically played during radio programmes and that the exchange between the female and male voice-overs was in the style of a conversation or an interview. Although we noted this would not be dissimilar to programming content, we considered that it was clear from the tone of the voice-overs that the material was scripted and pre-recorded.
We also noted that during a number of commercial breaks in which the ad was broadcast, including the one that was heard by the complainant, the ad was played amongst other ads during the commercial breaks and did not immediately follow or precede editorial programming. We also considered that the commercial breaks would have been signposted with sponsor credits and station imaging as demonstrated by the evidence provided by Bright FM. Given the context in which the ad was broadcast and in addition to the tone and content, we considered that listeners would understand the material and the message it contained as advertising. On this basis, we concluded the ad was obviously distinguishable from editorial programming.
The ad was investigated under the BCAP Code (Edition 1) rules 2.1 2.1 Advertisements must be obviously distinguishable from editorial content, especially if they use a situation, performance or style reminiscent of editorial content, to prevent the audience being confused between the two. The audience should quickly recognise the message as an advertisement. and 2.3 2.3 The use of a title, logo, set or music associated with a programme that is broadcast on that medium needs special care. The audience should quickly recognise the message as an advertisement. (Recognition of advertising) and was not found to be in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
