Ford’s ‘rage against the dying of the light’ advert banned for encouraging angry driving

A CAR advert that features the Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night has been banned for encouraging angry driving. Two adverts for Ford, seen on the carmaker’s Youtube channel and in cinemas, will not be shown again after rulings by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The Ford adverts featured a voiceover that stated: “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

After seeing the commercials, 12 viewers complained that they depicted driving as a way of relieving anger.

Ford argued that the aim of the advert was to contrast the “everyday frustrations of work life with the freedom of driving a new Ford Mustang”.

It said the voice-over quoting Thomas suggested a Ford Mustang could be the antidote to a dull life.

But the ASA, which also ruled against adverts for Nissan and Fiat Chrysler, said the advert showed the Mustang being driven in an “abrupt manner” as on-screen text read “Don’t go quietly” and characters were depicted releasing their anger while driving the car.

“We therefore considered that the adverts suggested that driving was a way of releasing anger, which put the driver, other motorists and pedestrians at risk,” it said.

Ford said: “While care was taken to show the car driving safely and at no point exceeding 15mph, we will no longer include the ad in marketing.”