Advertisment
The advertisement was seen in a national newspaper magazine and featured an image of a Land Rover Defender SUV driving out of the sea and onto rocks.
Complaint
The complainant considered the advertisement to be misleading as they said it depicted the vehicle as amphibious when it was not. The complainant considered this dangerous as a driver attempting to replicate the image shown in the advertisement could drown.
Response
The advertisers wished to clarify that Land Rover was not advertising an amphibious SUV. They said that the advertisement featured the Defender model which was a well-established off-road vehicle with a model line consisting of the compact 90, the practical 110, and the spacious 130 body designs, as well as a Hard Top commercial derivative. They said iconic in name and capability, the Defender was designed with purpose and delivered a unique breadth of capability.
The advertisers explained that the Defender had been through more than 62,000 tests for engineering sign off, while the chassis and body architecture were engineered to withstand Land Rover’s Extreme Event Test procedure which included repeated and sustained impacts, above and beyond the normal standard for SUV and passenger cars. They said that during development testing, prototype models covered millions of kilometres across some of the harshest environments on earth, ranging from the 50-degree heat of the desert and sub 40-degree cold of the Arctic, as well as to altitudes of 10,000ft in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
The advertisers said that the Defender’s legendary toughness was highlighted by the five-star Euro NCAP safety rating awarded to the 110 model; they explained that an 85 per cent score for adult and child protection and a 79 per cent score for Safety Assist helped it gain the maximum possible score in this benchmark assessment. They said that the Defender’s Configurable Terrain Response allowed experienced off-roaders to fine-tune individual vehicle settings to perfectly suit the conditions, while inexperienced drivers could let the system detect and deploy the most appropriate vehicle settings for the terrain using the intelligent Auto function.
The advertisers clarified that the Defender’s body architecture provided ground clearance of 291mm and world-class off-road geometry, giving the 110-model approach, breakover and departure angles of 38, 28 and 40 degrees (off-road height) respectively. They said that a world-class maximum wading depth of 900mm for all body designs was supported by a new Wade programme in the Terrain Response 2 system, which ensured drivers could ford deep water with complete confidence.
In relation to the specificities of the complaint, the advertisers explained that the image was supplied by Jaguar Land Rover’s global advertising agency for use in multiple markets and that it was not altered in any way in Ireland but simply resized for local advertising formats. They said that they made enquiries with Jaguar Land Rover’s global marketing team to garner more details about the image in question and they confirmed that the shoot location was a beach in Morocco and that the image was not created through CGI.
The advertisers said that in addition, the advertisement included a disclaimer in the small print as follows: “Off road driving requires advance training and experience. These activities may result in injury and/or property damage. Always check your route, surfaces and surrounding areas before entering and exiting unsurfaced roads and wading depth before entering and exiting water.”
The advertisers clarified that this advertisement featured in a variety of premium print titles, in this case The Gloss. They said that the 2024 Media Kit for The Gloss referenced Dentsu Audience research and asserted that the magazine had “a powerful and loyal audience of affluent decision-makers.” They said that the medium was selected to reach a relevant ABC1 audience of mature and responsible adults.
The advertisers said that they were disappointed that the advertisement caused offence to the complainant, however taken in its entirety and in the context of where it was advertised, they did not believe that the advertisement mislead or condoned dangerous behaviour or unsafe practices.
Conclusion
Complaint Not Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Committee noted that the Defender had a wading depth of 900mm, and that the advertisement featured a disclaimer advising consumers to verify the wading depth before entering and exiting the water. The Committee noted while the Defender was driving out of the sea, the water was no higher than the tyres, and that there was no water apparent on the hood or roof (suggesting that it had not been submerged). The Committee did not consider that consumers would believe that the vehicle had been submerged but rather that it could drive in shallow water. In the circumstances, they did not consider that the advertisement breached the Code on the basis suggested in the complaint.
ACTION REQUIRED:
No further action required.
