Subaru ad canned for citing speed

Standards body says ad for Impreza breaches code

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 17 August 2005 / Loading comments

This goes really slowly. No, really.

We have reached a pretty pass when an advertiser cannot even refer to the speed of a product that's designed to move.

A complainant from Surrey has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a Subaru ad for the Impreza -- and had his complaint upheld.

The objection was to a national press advertisement for showing a photo of a moving car against a blurred background with the words: "Forty powerful reasons to buy a Subaru Impreza. An extra forty horsepower for free." The rest of the text explained how the STi and WRX now come with a free 40bhp Prodrive Performance Pack if bought by 31 July.

The complainant objected that, because speed and acceleration were the predominant message of the advertisement, it breached the advertising code.

Subaru responds

Subaru said the advertisement merely outlined the offer of a free engine performance upgrade and provided general performance information which was permitted under the Code. It said that the engine upgrade offer was the predominant message of the advertisement, not speed or acceleration. Subaru argued that there were no references to speed, and acceleration was mentioned in the body copy only as part of a description about the car's performance. It said the advertisement reinforced the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

Subaru also said that the advertisement merely showed a picture of the car to potential buyers, and that it was impossible to tell what speed the car was moving at, or whether that speed was excessive. Subaru said it believed that the advertisement did not encourage irresponsible driving or anti-social behaviour.

But, in upholding the complaint, the ASA said the ad offered a free engine performance upgrade and quoted performance figures for STI and WRX models. The copy quoted above "made speed the predominant message of the advertisement". As a result, the ad was "irresponsible". The ASA asked Subaru to amend it and offered remedial help from the CAP Copy Advice team for future campaigns.

It's a performance car. How else would you advertise it?