Unusual Land Rover Defender ads banned

While the British advertising regulator deemed the promotional campaign was misleading, the same ads continue to run in Australia.

Jaguar Land Rover has been forced to pull ads for its Defender SUV in the United Kingdom after a government body ruled they were misleading – however, the videos continue to be shown to Australian viewers.

The two ads – one a shorter version of the other – depict the Land Rover Defender navigating a series of difficult off-road terrains before driving backwards towards a cliff, coming to a stop just before reaching the edge thanks to its attentive parking sensors.

In two complaints submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent advertising regulator, two viewers argued parking sensors could only warn of obstacles and would not warn of empty space behind the vehicle.

As such, the viewers argued the ads were “misleading about what the parking sensor could provide”.

In its response, Jaguar Land Rover in the UK agreed parking sensors would not warn of empty space behind the vehicle, but argued shots of the car from other angles showed it reversing towards a large boulder and some rocks which would have been detected by the sensors.

However, in its investigations, the watchdog concluded “it was not obvious that the parking sensor was reacting to the rocks rather than the edge of the cliff.”

As such, it upheld the complaints, ruling that viewers “would see them as illustrating how the vehicles would perform in all environments, including everyday settings”.

“The ads must not appear again in the forms complained of,” the ASA said in a statement.

However, the same ads continue to air in Australia with Jaguar Land Rover’s Australian arm telling Drive: “The vehicle, technology and the scene represented is factual”.

“We are aware of the complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK, relating to a scene from a recent Defender ‘Above and Beyond’ TV advert,” a company representative said.

“Our UK counterparts were disappointed with the ASA decision to uphold this complaint ​in the UK as the vehicle, technology and the scene represented is factual. They will of course abide by their ruling which was based on only two complaints.”

“Locally, the ad has not attracted any complaints,” the spokesperson said.

“We have not had any complaints regarding this advertisement in Australia and the ASA decision is not applicable in the Australian market.”

“The advertisement has been very well received in the Australian market with customer demand for Drive’s Car of The Year – Best Upper Large SUV continuing to be exceptionally strong.”

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