Excerpts from the Advertising Standards Agency reply to my request for further review….
“Let me first say that personally I found this a very poor and indeed silly ad, if it was meant to allay public concern about the safety of smart or all lanes running motorways. Because of its lack of quality it almost invited complaints, especially from those with a deep seated concern about safety on such motorways” …..
“but I can see that Government’s apparently serious response to people’s concerns was not reflected in the lack of quality of this ad whether in its TV, radio or press form. In my opinion the ‘flies’ on the windscreen instructing the driver to ‘Go Left’ are spectacularly crass.”
Unfortunately it continues “However, having said all that” …… “It clearly does not reflect all the circumstance a driver is likely to come across in terms of the weight of traffic, weather conditions or the degree of warning a driver might receive. To construct an ad which did not omit possible different circumstance would be a counsel of perfection which would be unrealistic to demand. In that light I cannot see that it would be justifiable for me to find the decision substantially flawed.”
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My comments on social media to this reply:
I appreciated the sentiment and tone of the reply, he actually sounded like he’d put some thought into it and was more than a little out spoken, but as many as you have said it just another toothless watchdog.
This is the first time I’ve ever complained to the ASA and I can honestly say after the effectiveness of this, which relates to life and death situations, I will never bother wasting my time contacting them ever again.
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Reply to ASA
