Land Rover’s misleading advert: call for mass-complaint to the UK advertising authority
Land Rover ad featured on 12th June 2021 in the Guardian magazine
Badvertising today launched a formal complaint against Land Rover with the UK’s advertising regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in protest against the company’s misleading advert featured in the print version of the Guardian.
Misleading SUV advertising: should Land Rover be above the rules?
At Badvertising we review many examples of misleading and harmful advertising in our “Badvert of the Month” blog posts. Previously we reviewed a similar example of a Land Rover advert which pictured one of its vehicles part-submerged in water, ironically suggesting the world of a destabilised climate made worse by the use of the very gas-guzzling SUVs promoted by the company. Over the last ten years, the number of large SUVs in the UK has more than doubled. The International Energy Agency reported that SUVs were the only sector to actually increase its emissions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Our complaint to the ASA against (see image below), featured in the Guardian on several dates, is on the grounds that Land Rover’s “Above and Beyond” marketing campaign implies that the company and its product are somehow above concern about their environmental consequences and would be better left unconstrained by restrictions, legal or otherwise. With its motto “Above and beyond”, “life is better without restrictions” or that “there is one restriction: you have to bring it back”, the advert implies a reckless approach to vehicle use. It misleadingly implies that normal regulations might not apply when using this large SUV. This is particularly concerning given that most car manufacturers are actually breaching European emissions regulations and are faced with paying up to billions of pounds in fines.
But, more importantly, by pretending to be above restrictions, this kind of advertising dangerously undermines efforts to drastically cut carbon emissions from transport via the phasing out of fossil-fuelled cars, which many Governments are planning to do (the target is 2030 in the UK). At the top of this particular model’s emission range, it is pouring out pollution at over 250% above the EU target carbon emission level for an average car.
Complaint to the ASA: rules and limitations
Complaints can be lodged to the ASA in relation to adverts deemed harmful or misleading. The ASA will only take forward complaints which are explicitly violating its code of conduct.
Our complaint is based on the fact that the advert is in breach of both principles 3.1 and 3.2 of the ASA code on misleading advertising:
3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
3.2 Obvious exaggerations ("puffery") and claims that the average consumer who sees the marketing communication is unlikely to take literally are allowed provided they do not materially mislead.
However, it is worth noting that a mere 22% of complaints are investigated and only 2% upheld, which puts into question the effectiveness of the system. It is also worth commenting that an advert may mislead in terms of suggesting that types of anti-social or damaging behaviour are acceptable, in such a way that even if they do not materially mislead they nevertheless have the effect of normalising or validating the damaging behaviour.
Our letter of complaint about this Land Rover advert is also a direct call to the Advertising Standards Authority to take the overdue step of reassessing advertising codes in relation to climate breakdown. The ASA stated in November 2020:
“Advertising is only part of the puzzle that needs to be tackled if we are going to make a meaningful difference. Fundamentally, the challenge of tackling the climate emergency invites action from all of us to adapt how we live our lives. But the ad industry, regulatory partners and we here at the ASA are using this year as an opportunity to gear up to make a difference.”
In another communication on new guidance for green claims, the ASA states that it is committed to develop “new rules that tackle advertising that is misleading or harmful to the environment”.
But, actions speak louder than words. In January 2021, the ASA was heavily criticised in the Journal of European Market and Consumer Law for “missing the big picture” regarding carbon-intensive advertising. If it is to be taken seriously as a regulator the ASA needs to widen its focus and enhance its understanding of how irresponsible marketing - such as the Land Rover advert - is directly contributing to harm through encouraging air pollution, increased pedestrian danger and climate breakdown.
Template Complaint
Here is a sample complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority that you are free to use or adapt:
Feel free to amend and personalise your complaint below. There is a word count limit of 5000 characters.
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to lodge a formal complaint about a current marketing campaign in the UK printed press by Land Rover. The advert dated from 12th June 2021 featured in the Guardian magazine which has a very high visibility as the most read quality press in the UK, at 35.6 million readers per month across both print and digital formats. [1]
In this complaint we detail two ways in which this advertisement is misleading and in breach of principles 3.1 (point 1), 3.2 (point 1 and 2) of the ASA non-broadcast Code.
Point 1. Misleading use of text
The use of the text “life is so much better without restrictions” implies that the company and its vehicles are above consideration of their environmental impacts and would be better left unconstrained by restrictions, legal or otherwise.
The ad further reads: “Understandably, there are still restrictions as life slowly gets back to normal. Not so with Defender, the 4WD vehicle with a capacity to go almost anywhere and do almost anything. If you take one for an extended test drive throughout June, a whole new world of freedom awaits. Actually, there is one restriction: you have to bring it back.” To exploit frustration over public health measures for the promotion of a highly polluting vehicle is particularly irresponsible when air pollution is leading to the premature death of up to 36,000 people each year in the UK and has been shown to aggravate the severity of Covid-19 symptoms.[2][3]
Despite these claims being made in reference to Covid-19 restrictions, the claim that the “one restriction” applied to this model is to “bring it back” is false and misleading and implies that the model advertised is not susceptible to any regulations such as those related to vehicle emissions or driver behaviour.
In fact the Defender model is in breach of European regulations for vehicle emissions as it emits up to 226-340g of CO2 per kilometer and is thus over three times the 2020-2024 European target set at 95g CO2/kilometre.[4][5] Research shows that alongside Europe’s top 13 car manufacturers, Jaguar-Land-Rover Ltd is responsible for the greatest amount of carbon emissions across all its models and is set to miss its own emission target for 2021 at 130 g CO2/km. [7]
The reference to a “whole new world of freedom” awaiting is particularly misleading for the reason that it clearly contradicts further restrictions soon to be imposed on internal combustion engined vehicles by the UK Government. By 2030, the sale of all new petrol or diesel-powered vehicles - including this model advertised - are to be phased out (the target is 2035 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles).[8] In marketing this vehicle as if it were free from restrictions it fully omits, and thus misinforms the public, about the fact that the automotive sector is subject to Government regulations to bring the UK to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.[9]
Point 2. Misleading use of imagery
Featuring this car against a forest background is misleading too, as recent research finds that on average two thirds of SUV purchases in the UK are registered to urban addresses.[10] The top three districts where large SUVs are most sold are all located in inner London boroughs (Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster).[11] Research also finds that themes of ‘rugged nature’ and ‘adventure’ have been most commonly used for marketing SUV vehicles, such as the model shown in this advert. The reality is that these cars end up clogging urban streets and cities. [12]
Furthermore, forests are sensitive ecosystems not suitable for large SUVs. Forests are frequently protected, carry restrictions and hence to promote unrestricted driving is misleading. The caption “Life is so much better without restrictions” is extremely harmful in times of unprecedented disruption to nature and societies caused by climate and ecological breakdown.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-health-england-publishes-air-pollution-evidence-review
[3] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/subtopics/coronavirus-and-pollution/
[4] https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/regulation_en
[5] This target is now converted into WLTP Co2 emissions
[6] https://www.paconsulting.com/insights/2019/co2-emissions-are-increasing/
[7] ibid.
[9] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-enshrines-new-target-in-law-to-slash-emissions-by-78-by-2035
[11] ibid.
[12] ibid.