'Cool' Range Rover ad forced off the road for speeding

Range Rover’s social media team have found themselves dumped on the side of the road after sending out a tweet which was big on the joy of speed and small on responsible advertising.

Seen on X, the tweet stated: “Fashionably late is out of fashion. Because 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds can look like this. #RangeRoverSportSV.” An accompanying shot showed an individual wearing sunglasses in a barren landscape, standing in front of a blurred image of the rear of a car, that had made a dust trail.

Three consumers wasted no time in firing complaints off to the Advertising Standards Authority, challenging whether the ad was irresponsible because it focused on the vehicle’s speed and acceleration.

In its defence, Jaguar Land Rover argued that the ad’s primary focus was on the style of the brand, rather than the speed of the vehicle. It also emphasised that the image had been taken on a closed track on private land and that the vehicle had only been travelling at 20mph.

According to the car giant, the dust cloud was created because the surface of the track was extremely dusty; it did not believe that cloud indicated the vehicle was travelling at speed.

The firm also highlighted that the entire background, including the cactus and track surface, was blurred and therefore did not imply that the vehicle was travelling at speed.

As for the message “fashionably late is out of fashion”, that was intended to suggest that consumers should avoid being late to avoid speeding. It further explained that the text “because 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds can look like this” referred to the look and attitude of the model, the focus of the image, who looked calm and sophisticated because she had arrived on time.

Jaguar Land Rover emphasised that the overall message of the ad was the model having been dropped off on time, and that arriving in a timely fashion without speeding would allow consumers to remain calm and “cool”.

The ASA, however, had other ideas, countering that the blurring of the car implied that it was travelling at speed and that the large dust cloud trail made by the car further added to that impression.

While the regulator acknowledged Jaguar Land Rover’s claims that the car had been travelling at 20mph when the ad was shot and that their intention was to focus on the model’s demeanour rather than the speed of the car.

Notwithstanding that, however, the watchdog said that within the context of the ad and the car travelling at apparent speed in the background, consumers would understand the text to mean that punctuality could be achieved by accelerating quickly. Furthermore, it considered the text, alongside the image of the model, portrayed accelerating quickly as fashionable, and therefore, promoted it in a positive light.

Banning the ad after concluding it “made speed and acceleration the main message”, the regulator warned Jaguar Land Rover Ltd over future advertising activity.