BMW radio advert banned over engine noise is not political correctness gone mad – Scotsman comment

“Brrrmmm, brrrmmm! BrrrMMMmmm!”

A BMW M8 car is seen during the 19th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in April (Picture: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

This may not immediately seem like a sound that should be banned, but something a bit like it just has been.

A radio ad for a BMW car was deemed to have broken broadcasting rules by the Advertising Standards Authority, which decided it had “demonstrated the power of the car, not in the clear context of safety, and in a way that suggested excitement”.

Political correctness gone mad? Not really. The ASA code states ads must not refer to speed in a way that might condone dangerous or irresponsible driving – a sensible policy given how many road accidents are caused by driving too fast.

This doesn’t seem like the worst case but making the engine noise the main selling point of the car, as this advert did, crossed a line that needs to be held, lest worse breaches slip through citing the precedent.

Keeping advertising companies from getting carried away is a tricky but necessary task, as demonstrated by egregious examples from the less well-regulated past.

How about the one for Lucky Strike cigarettes that claimed they offered “throat protection” against irritation and coughs? Not impressed? Well, here’s another factoid of distinctly dubious merit from the marketing executives of old: “more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette”.

And it’s not just Big Tobacco that has form. “Sugar’s quick energy can be the willpower you need to eat less,” proclaimed one ad. And if you’re not sold on eating sugar to lose weight, might you be in the market for “vitamin donuts… for pep and vigour”?

We can laugh now, but that’s partly because of the good work of the ASA.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.