Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
A TV and cinema ad for the Peugeot 208 GTi 30th anniversary limited edition car:
a. The TV ad opened with a Peugeot 205GTi (the 205) parachuting down from the sky in a snowy mountain range and a fighter jet firing a missile. The missile hit the 205's parachute and the vehicle landed on the snow and drove away. The ad then showed a Hercules plane banking through the sky, and the scene cut to the 205 driving across a frozen lake. The Hercules was then seen flying low, chasing the 205. Suddenly, the new Peugeot 208 GTi (the 208) was seen drifting into shot and weaved around the 205 and overtook it, driving along the frozen lake. The plane chasing the 208 fired missiles, missing the car as it drove along the frozen lake. As the car dodged all of the missiles, the ice cracked and opened up behind the 208 as it drove across the lake and up a snowy hill.
An Apache helicopter flew into shot and followed the 208 as it tried to escape. The driver drove into a half pipe with the helicopter following and firing missiles. The driver drove up the side of the half pipe and flipped the car over the top of the helicopter. The ad then showed the pilot and the driver looking at each other, with the driver making a gesture that suggested he was watching the pilot. The 208 landed safely back onto the run and continued to drive away from the helicopter. As the 208 car exited the half pipe, the helicopter crashed into an overhead wire and landed in the snow. The car was then seen drifting to a stop in front of a large mansion. A woman was seen waiting inside the mansion; as the man stood with her, she said "You made me wait ..." to which he replied "I know. About 30 years". The ad concluded with on-screen text that stated "PEUGEOT MOTION & EMOTION".
b. The cinema ad was the same as ad (a).
Issue
The ASA received six complaints.
1. Five complainants challenged whether ad (a) was irresponsible because it glamorised speeding, and condoned dangerous and irresponsible driving.
2. One complainant challenged whether ad (b) was irresponsible for the same reasons.
Response
Peugeot said the idea of the ads was to reincarnate the old 205 TV ad from the 1980s and for them to re-create the James Bond-esque, espionage style theme by demonstrating unbelievable feats of fantastical driving as seen in similar movies. The intention of the ads' execution was to entertain, excite and bring back memories of the previous 205. Their agency worked closely with the relevant clearance bodies − Clearcast and the Cinema Advertising Association (the CAA) − and discussed concerns which could arise under the Codes such as safety, speed, and irresponsible and anti-social driving.
Peugeot believed the ads were likely to be seen by viewers as fantastical and not representative of real-life driving capabilities. They believed the scene where the car drove up the half-pipe and flipped over the top of the helicopter while the driver gestured at the pilot showed these were impossible feats to emulate with the real 208. Furthermore, the slow motion scene was created with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), which they believed demonstrated to viewers that was not a real life capability of the car or a demonstration of road driving skills. They explained further that the entire ad had been produced using CGI; the scenes with the car and helicopter pilot were filmed in front of a green screen, with the mountain landscape, frozen lake and air craft scenes edited in using CGI.
Peugeot pointed out that none of the ads' action took place on public roads; rather it centred on a snowy mountain, a frozen lake and a half pipe. They felt all of those elements contributed to the fantastical nature of the ad and the locations were integral to the idea behind the ads. They felt the fantastical elements of the action and theme of the ads removed them from real-life driving and therefore, the ads did not condone irresponsible driving.
Clearcast, responding in relation to ad (a) only, said the opening sequence of the ad, in which the car was attached to a parachute and shot down by a fighter jet, immediately established the fantastical tone of the ad. They noted that tone continued throughout the ad, with planes and helicopters firing at the car. They believed the ad was shot in a filmic style and included references to the James Bond films, to which the ad seemed to pay homage.
Clearcast did not believe the ad condoned speeding. Although the car was seen driving at speed, it was to evade missile fire and therefore, it could not be considered as aggressive or competitive driving. They noted there were no references to speed, either in the voice-over or on-screen and no shots of the rev counter were seen in the ad. They noted the car was driven across a frozen lake which meant the normal laws of driving did not apply and added further to the fantastical nature of the ad.
Clearcast believed that, in the context in which it was depicted, the driving was acceptable under the Code and that the ad in no way encouraged or condoned dangerous driving. On that basis, they were happy to clear the ad for broadcast.
The CAA, responding in relation to ad (b) only, said it was very much aware that for cinema-goers in general the cinema was a place of fantasy where they entered an auditorium and consciously and deliberately left behind real life.
The CAA believed the ad presented a fantasy world from the very beginning, as was seen with the car parachuting down and pursued by a missile-firing airplane. As the ad went on, it increasingly and relentlessly emphasised the fantastical nature of its world beyond even the James Bond spoof opening. They noted the ad pointed to characteristics of the 208 other than just speed or acceleration. They believed it exaggeratedly implied the 208 was nippy and manoeuvrable by ludicrously dodging a host of air-fired rockets, and its lightness in weight was hinted at as it defied the cracking ice of a frozen lake. They believed the climax itself, which showed the ability of driver and car to bring down a missile-firing Apache helicopter by looping the loop out of an icy half pipe, did not offer a demonstration of any real-life ability of the 208.
The CAA did consider whether the atmosphere of excitement and thrill communicated by the ad might be carried through in some sub-conscious way by members of the audience and transferred to their own real-life driving. However, they believed the nature of the medium and its audience was generally prejudiced against aligning what appeared on a cinema screen with real life; that was the case here because the scenarios shown throughout the ad were bereft of any tangible connection with the real world, other than the depicted cars.
The CAA considered the ad effectively entered the all-enveloping fantasy world of cinema, a world the cinema audience actively connived with to the point of rejecting unwanted associations with the real world. It therefore considered the ad was made with a sense of social responsibility that reflected the nature and tendency of the film medium to create its own world, disassociated from reality. They believed the ad's off-the-scale fantasy was no more likely to encourage real-life unwise styles of driving than James Bond's depicted handling of his Aston Martin in the film "Casino Royale".
Assessment
1. & 2. Not upheld
The ASA noted Peugeot’s, Clearcast’s and the CAA's comments that the theme of the ads was fantastical, something which was demonstrated from the outset and throughout, and that it was in the style of the James Bond film genre. We acknowledged the fantastical scenarios in which the 208 was depicted were not representative of, or recognisable as, real-life driving conditions. In addition, we understood that no real driving took place in the ad and the whole ad had been produced using CGI.
Throughout the ads, the 208 was shown evading aircraft, missile fire and performing stunts like flipping the car over the top of the helicopter. We considered the backdrop of the ad together with the scenarios in which the 208 was presented were so fantastical and so far removed from reality that viewers were unlikely to see the ads as an actual demonstration of the car's acceleration, speed or handling. Therefore, we considered the driving style, as shown in the ad, was also unlikely to be interpreted as a real-life representation of the car's capabilities and therefore would not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. We concluded the ads did not breach the Code.
We investigated ad (a) under BCAP Code rules
1.2
1.2
Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society.
(Social responsibility),
20.1
20.1
Advertisements must not condone or encourage dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible driving or motorcycling. Advertisements must not suggest that driving or motorcycling safely is staid or boring.
20.3
20.3
Motoring advertisements must not demonstrate power, acceleration or handling characteristics except in a clear context of safety. Reference to those characteristics must not suggest excitement, aggression or competitiveness.
and
20.4
20.4
Motoring advertisements must not refer to speed in a way that might condone or encourage dangerous, competitive, inconsiderate or irresponsible driving or motorcycling. Factual statements about a vehicle's speed or acceleration are permissible but must not be presented as a reason for preferring the advertised vehicle. Speed or acceleration claims must not be the main selling message of an advertisement.
(Motoring) and ad (b) under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Social responsibility),
19.2
19.2
Marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving. If it could be emulated, marketing communications must not depict a driving practice that is likely to condone or encourage a breach of those rules of the Highway Code that are legal requirements if that driving practice seems to take place on a public road or in a public space. Vehicles' capabilities may be demonstrated on a track or circuit if it is obviously not in use as a public highway.
19.3
19.3
Marketing communications must not depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or to break the law.
To avoid the implication of irresponsible driving through excessive speed, care must be taken in the style of presentation of marketing communications. Particular care must be taken in, for example, cinema commercials and in marketing communications that appear in electronic media to avoid moving images that imply excessive speed. If they are shown in normal driving circumstances on public roads, vehicles must be seen not to exceed UK speed limits.
and
19.4
19.4
Marketers must not make speed or acceleration the main message of their marketing communications. Marketing communications may give general information about a vehicle's performance, such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power, road-holding and top speed.
(Motoring), but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action required.
