Suzuki Swift ad altered after complaints

Suzuki has become the latest car maker to fall foul of the Advertising Standard board. It has agreed to alter its television commercial for the Swift Sport after it was ruled to depict dangerous driving.

The ad shows a man and woman driving through a multi-story carpark with the fire sprinklers going off as the car drives past with the tagline “new Swift Sport, hotter than ever.”

The crux of the complaint was that the ad showed the car’s rev counter rapidly rising after a close up of the driver’s foot pushing down on the accelerator.

Suzuki initially defended the commercial. 

“We confirm that throughout the filming of the advertisement, the vehicle was always being driven at or below the speed limits in the car park and there are no indications to suggest otherwise,” it wrote in response to the complaint.

“The car was being driven in a controlled manner throughout the advertisement.

“At no point in the advertisement does the car lose any traction whatsoever around corners. The car does not lose traction as it enters the parking bay.

But the advertising board rejected the brand’s defence when handing down its verdict.

“The Board noted that at the start of the advertisement we see the driver pressing his foot on the accelerator pedal followed by a view of the tachometer showing rapidly increasing engine revolutions,” the judgement read.

“The Board noted that whilst there is no independent verification of the actual speed of the vehicle, in the Board’s view the combination of the firm depression of the accelerator pedal, the increase in engine revs and the sped up footage combine to give an overall impression of reckless speed which the Board considers to be a depiction of unsafe driving.”

Suzuki maintained the commercial didn’t breach the voluntary advertising guidelines laid out by the car industry body, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, but agreed to change the ad.

It will cut out the scenes showing the pedal being pushed and the rev counter before it re-airs on television.

The complainant also accused Suzuki of being sexist because it showed a female passenger in the car wearing a short, low cut dress. There was also a close-up shot of her cleavage.

Suzuki successfully argued that the woman’s outfit was appropriate for the commercial and in keeping with current style.