Toyota advert banned over dangerous driving fears

A Toyota advert featuring a car speeding through narrow streets before bursting through a glass barrier has been banned for condoning dangerous driving.

The advertisement for the Toyota GT86 was set in an animated virtual world and began with a male character describing not being real until he drove the car, followed by scenes of a chase through narrow streets and the driver exploding through the glass wall on to a real road.

Two viewers complained that the ad was irresponsible and condoned dangerous driving.

Toyota told the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that it did not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving and had paid particular attention to the Highway Code when designing the ad.

The car maker defended the advert saying that the driver was never shown to be out of control and his behaviour did not endanger himself or others, adding that the ad was set in an artificial environment which was impossible to emulate.

It denied there was any reference to the police in the ad and argued that the pursuit scenes had been used to demonstrate the car's handling rather than speed.

However, the ASA said it believed that the driving, and particularly the speeds, could be emulated on real roads.