VW adverts banned for offering boost to the ‘irresponsible’

TWO television adverts for Volkswagen promoting a safety feature on one of its cars have been banned for encouraging “irresponsible driving”.

Six viewers complained that the adverts were irresponsible because they encouraged dangerous driving by exaggerating benefits of safety features.

The adverts, from February, promoted Advanced Safety Systems on the VW Polo. It showed a man and his father driving when an alert appeared and the car was shown to narrowly miss colliding with a lorry, followed by an alert when they braked suddenly.

Volkswagen Group UK said the car was not shown to be driven dangerously and there was nothing that condoned or encouraged irresponsible driving.

However, the Advertising Standards Authority said the father’s visible nervousness and loud indie rock soundtrack contributed to the impression that the driver was irresponsible. “We therefore considered that the overall message was of reliance on the safety features to aid those likely to drive irresponsibly.”