Safety Check: Vehicles in Advertising

July 2024

Reversing without watching, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, and even trolley mischief at the supermarket. Despite best intentions by advertising creatives, when it comes to including vehicles in advertising, perceived safety risks are still a common cause of complaints to the ASA.

Whether an ad is portraying features and benefits of a vehicle, or the vehicle is incidental to the product being promoted, advertisers have a duty to ensure advertising does not encourage or condone a disregard for safety. We’ve pulled together our best advice to help ensure your ads don’t unintentionally go off the rails.

Road safety

If you’re showing vehicles of any form, ensure the vehicles, their drivers and passengers are compliant with the laws and road code (if applicable). This includes wearing the correct restraints, safety equipment (including life jackets on boats) and avoiding depicting distractions, driver fatigue, and excessive speed or dangerous stunts. Obvious hyperbole can be acceptable, so long as it is clear to the viewer that the situation is fictional.

Advertisers should also consider whether it is appropriate to depict the use of their product while driving. If the product has disclaimers against such usage, this would likely cause issues regarding truthful presentation as well as the potential safety concerns.

Disclaimers can mitigate the risk of overseas images (to a point)

Many international advertisers will use ads originally filmed overseas. These ads may depict license plates or driving conditions (such as right lane driving) that are typical for the country the ad is filmed in. It is likely to be acceptable to show these ads in New Zealand so long as there is a clear disclaimer the ad was filmed overseas.

Advocacy messages

Depictions of alcohol or drug use while operating vehicles may be acceptable if shown as part of a harm prevention advertisement from agencies authorised to provide this messaging.

Check it early in the creative process

It’s always a good idea to test your ideas out with an external audience who is not part of the creation process. Run your draft ad past family, friends, or colleagues to check the consumer takeout is what you intended.

We’re here to help!

The ASA have a range of support tools for advertisers to support responsible advertising.

Check out our Short & Sweet video recapping the rules, or our Quick Guide: Safety Check on Vehicles in Advertising.

Want more detailed guidance? If you have an ad idea you’re not sure about, our AdHelp service provides guidance on the Advertising Codes, relevant legislation, precedent decisions and any other information we think might assist you.

We also offer a range of bespoke webinar or in-house training options – learn more about these here or contact our team for more information.