UK Deems Vauxhall Ampera Ad Misleading, Bans It
12
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the sovereign state’s advertising watchdog, has banned a commercial for the Vauxhall Ampera (aka Chevy Volt) due to the ad’s supposedly-misleading nature.
You’ve likely already seen the ad, created by long-time GM agency McCann Erickson, in question. It’s this one, called Pioneer:
The ad contains a brief instance of small-print that reads:
“Comparison based on electric vehicles and extended range electric vehicles driven electrically at all times, even when an additional power source is generating electricity”.
The ASA isn’t having it, and writes in its ruling:
“We considered that throughout the ad the emphasis was on the fact that the car was being driven electrically, and that most viewers would not understand that the car was in some circumstances being powered by electricity generated with a petrol engine. The ad promoted an innovative product which many viewers would not immediately understand and we therefore considered that it would need to explicitly state that the car had a petrol engine. Because it did not clearly explain how the vehicle worked in extended-range mode, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”
The GM Authority Take
In other words, the agency believes that the average consumer is being fooled by the ad’s promise of a 360-mile range, which isn’t one of pure electricity, but rather one of a combined all-electric and engine-generator ranges.
We, however, find it ironic that the ASA — along with countless publications covering this development — chose to pursue GM and this particular Ampera ad while seemingly turning a blind eye to other automotive ads that promise a certain highway fuel economy. Most of those ads don’t openly state that the optimal fuel economy is only attained at a certain speed, ones that usually are much, much lower than the speed at which a regular driver will operate their vehicle on a freeway.
So if the ASA wants to protect Brits from an ad that could be misleading, it’s their right to do so; but why not take a gander at commercials from other automakers, as well? In any event, enjoy the ad while you can… lest it get pulled from the Internets as well.
Update 1: the ad is no longer available on Vauxhall’s YouTube channel. We’ve embedded it above using a non-official channel.
Google+
That’s stupid. I know the U.S. has a silly policy of babying consumers by making manufacturers state everything explicitly, but I didn’t know our brethren across the pond were under the same school of thought…
Well would you rather be lied to by automakers instead?
It could be powered by unicorn farts for all the customer cares. 360 miles is 360 miles no matter what the source of motivation.
The EU has banned unicorn farts as they are a known contributor to global warming. Geneticist across the UK are now working to develop a fartless unicorn.
I actually see the point they are trying to make. Notice that they said that the average consumer is unlikely to fully understand how the vehicle works and may be misled into believing that it’s purely electric. Let’s be honest. If the United States has idiots that STILL don’t understand how the Volt/Ampera works after having it around for so long, then sure as rain the UK will have idiots who will never understand it either. The least common multiple is a feature of our beloved democratic system, so I suppose the APA has a point. This is an easy fix though…all GM has to do is redo the ad to include PROMINENT mention of the petrol engine and they’ll be fine.
Believe me, if the Brits can find something to whine about – particularly in regard to anything seen as American – they’ll do it to the absolute max.
I think GM will get by just fine without that ad.
Oh those crazy brits ……… God save the queen!
á ya being sarcastic laddy when ya say God save the queen?
What’s the diference between the Volt/Ampera generating electricity from an onboard petrol engine and an electric car being charged and running on electricity that was generated by a coal-fired plant???? No difference in my opinion.
It behooves consumers to do their homework and research.
I agree Jesse ………. who are they trying to fool with elec cars. Convert to CNG till they can get hydrogen online.
CNG doesn’t have enough energy content you need to use liquefied natural gas to get decent range. But that’s just temporary until the US starts to export liquefied natural gas and the price will increase 500% to match the price the rest of the world pays.