Advertising Standards Bureau - Review of Operations 2013 | Page 52

Cars - (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Code of Practice for Motor Vehicle Advertising)
Motor vehicle advertisements that raised issues
under the Federal Chamber of Automotive
Industries (FCAI) Code increased from 23
complaints in 2011, to 80 complaints in 2012,
to 105 complaints in 2013. There were 24
advertisements which were considered under the
FCAI Code in 2013, with eight of these (one
third of cases) breaching the FCAI Code.

Key issues in 2013
•

A
dvertisers should note that depicting speed
or even an implication of driving at excessive
speed can breach the FCAI Code.

•

C
ompetitive driving in some contexts
may provide a message of unsafe
driving behaviour.

•

A
dvertisements need to comply with all
applicable road rules, including the use of fog
lights, seatbelts and indicators.

•

R
egardless of where a car is depicted driving,
the Board must consider whether the driving
depicted would be unsafe if it were on a road
or road-related area.

•

A
dvertisers must be aware of the need to
meet the intent and spirit of the FCAI Code
as expressed in the Explanatory Notes, not
just the substantive provisions.

Concerns raised by the community about motor
vehicle advertisements in 2013 related to driving
practices that may breach the law, excessive speed,
bicycle safety, and unsafe driving.

50

Depictions of unsafe driving
Provision 2(a) of the FCAI Code outlines that
advertisers should not depict unsafe driving,
including reckless and menacing driving that
would breach any Commonwealth law or the
law of any State or Territory. Complaints under
this section generally include motor vehicles
travelling at excessive speed, sudden changes in
direction or speed of a motor vehicle, deliberately
and unnecessarily setting motor vehicles on a
collision course, or the apparent and deliberate
loss of control of a moving motor vehicle. In 2013,
the majority of cases considered under the FCAI
Code raised issues under Section 2(a), and there
were eight cases found in breach of this provision
in 2013.
An advertisement for Chrysler Australia
(0053/13) featured footage of a vehicle being
driven on roads and skidding as it turned ninety
degrees. The Board noted that although there
is no verification of the actual speed of the
vehicle, the visuals in conjunction with the rapid
gear change and roaring of the engine give an
impression of speed. The Board determined that
the advertisement does depict unsafe driving that
would breach any law and does breach clause 2(a)
of the FCAI Code.
Competitive driving practices were considered
in a case for Mini Paceman (0128/13) where
two cars are being driven by a man and a woman
competing to see who gets home first. The Board
considered the explanatory notes for the FCAI
Code which state …urges also advertisers to avoid
any suggestion that depictions of….. competitive
driving are in any way associated with normal
on-road use of motor vehicles. The suggestion of
two cars racing each other in an urban setting
was found to be inappropriate and a depiction
of driving which is unsafe. This advertisement

was found in breach of Section 2(a) of the
FCAI Code.
Cases cleared by the Board in 2013 include

advertisements featuring a woman driving with
one high heel (Ford Motor Co – 0063/13), a
couple driving through a multi-storey car park
(0209/13), a bicycle mounted on a motor vehicle
(Mitsubishi Motors – 0343/13) and an overtaking
procedure (Honda Australia – 0251/13). In these
cases, the advertisements did not feature material
which breached any law or safe driving standards.
Concerns were raised in a Hyundai (0294/13 &
0312/13) advertisement where a motor vehicle
quickly moves in to the right hand lane to avoid
pallets which fell from the back of a truck. The
Board determined that it did not breach the
FCAI Code since the driver appeared to be in full
control of the vehicle, there was no depiction of
illegal driving and the car was clear to undertake
the avoidance manoeuvre safely. Similarly, a print
advertisement for Hyundai (0295/13) was cleared
as the overall context was not strongly suggestive
of a motorbike riding on the wrong side of
the road.
A campaign for Holden (0296/13, 0299/13 &
0339/13) also raised community concern due to a
scene where a vehicle drives close to a cyclist, and
the cyclist is seen to fall off his bicycle. The Board
noted that the cyclist is shown looking over his
shoulder at the vehicle before losing control of his
bike and considered that the gap in time between
the cyclist falling off and the car swerving to avoid
debris suggests that the vehicle was not driving
too close to the cyclist. In the Board’s view, the
most likely interpretation of this scenario is that
the cyclist was too busy looking at the vehicle and
not paying attention to where he was going, and
the advertisement was cleared by the Board.

Advertising Standards Bureau