Complaints over a TV ad for Volkswagen’s think blue technology – which features a dad with a baby in the back of his car – have fallen on deaf ears at the ad watchdog, despite claims the commercial was harmful and irresponsible.
The “Think Blue” ad, devised by Adam & Eve DDB, promotes technology that switches off a car’s engine whenever it comes to a standstill.
It features a father driving round with his baby in the early hours of the morning to get him off to sleep. The toddler remains asleep until the car stops and VW’s start/stop technology kicks in, switching off the motor and disturbing the baby. This happens several times before the father spots another man in the same position, also in a VW. The ad ends with the line: “At least you’ll save money on fuel.”
But in what many will view as a classic case of “haven’t they got better things to do?”, two viewers contacted the Advertising Standards Authority because they believed the babies featured in the ad were too young – and did not weigh enough – to be sitting in front-facing car seats. They challenged whether the ad was harmful and irresponsible.
But, it seems, Adam & Eve had prepared for all eventualities by pre-empting the complaints, confirming that the weight of the babies – 9.41 kg and 9.59 kg respectively – meant they were compliant with the legal requirements.
Acknowledging that VW was aware of the guidelines and had taken measures to ensure that it was acting within the law, the ASA rejected the complaints and confirmed the ad was free to air in its current form.
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Haven’t they got better things to do? Viewers complain about baby seats in @aandeddb VW ad http://t.co/21S7v7CqtM #digitalmarketing