The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa has dismissed a complaint from a Facebook user who took issue with the use of the words “fast lane” in a Volkswagen post promoting the new Golf GTD.
David Sparrow contacted the ASA to lodge a consumer complaint against the respondent’s advertising on Facebook.
The post (which we’ve embedded below) appeared on Volkswagen South Africa’s page on 19 July 2017 and comprised an image of the diesel-powered Golf along with the words: “With the #newgolf GTD, you’ll be staying in the fast lane for longer. Now available”.
Sparrow argued that South Africa did not have a “fast lane” where different speed limits applied, adding that the advertisement played “on the mentality that has prevailed on South African roads, and perpetuates the notion that the right-hand lanes are ‘fast’ lanes”.
The complainant submitted that if the advert referred to remaining “in the right lane for longer” or “overtaking a lot more” it would be correct.
In response, VW SA submitted that its targeted customer would be able to lawfully drive the advertised vehicle, meaning that all legislated requirements had been met, adding that no reasonable person would interpret the advert as a suggestion that the rules of the road should be or could be disobeyed.
The ASA Directorate said that it considered all the relevant documentation submitted by the respective parties, and determined that the dispute seemed to be “on the border between arguing that incorrect terminology would mislead people into assuming that different speed limits apply to the outer lanes, and arguing that the advertisement encourages speeding”.
In its ruling, the Directorate said that “the image in the advertisement is that of a stationary Golf GTD, which arguably negates any argument that speeding or reckless behaviour is encouraged. This negates any notion that the advertising promotes unsafe driving”.
It added that it was “not convinced” that the reference to “staying in the fast lane for longer” constituted either an encouragement to speed, or created a misleading impression with a hypothetical reasonable person.
“While the annual carnage on South African roads is no trivial matter, it is not reasonable to argue that licensed drivers would be misled by the reference to a ‘fast lane’ to an extent that they believe speeding or exceeding speeding limits is encouraged or acceptable,” the ruling read.
“The Directorate is not convinced that the advertisement is misleading to a hypothetical reasonable, licensed person. Similarly, the Directorate does not believe that the advertisement encourages or condones unsafe driving behaviour,” it concluded, dismissing the complaint.
