The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the advertising regulator in the United Kingdom, has banned a Twix television advertisement. They started getting consumer complaints saying that the advertisement was encouraging reckless driving. This decision was prompted by five formal complaints. The original complaints claimed that the ad was reckless and had the potential to incite harmful action from its audience.
The problematic Twix ad shoots a 3-way game-winning shot. Two cars zoom away while still connected, and a Twix bar rolls through their sunroofs. The advertisement’s tagline, “two is better than one,” seems more fitting next to this image. Transportation safety advocates have criticized the imagery for encouraging a highly dangerous and misleading depiction of driver behavior, contributing to a deadly environment on our roadways.
In defense of the advertisement, Mars-Wrigley, the owner of Twix, argued that the ad was presented in a “cinematic” manner and set in a “world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality.” They emphasized that the cars in the advertisement were filmed driving at lawful speeds, suggesting that any emulation of the scene would reflect only safe driving practices.
Clearcast, the central organization that pre-screens advertisements, supported Mars-Wrigley’s defense. They argued that the advertisement did not glorify or promote dangerous driving practices.
Yet the ASA, in a decision that has limited precedent, decided that the ad might be understood to encourage reckless driving behavior. The authority stated it expects advertisers “not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads.” As a result of this ruling, the Twix advertisement has been banned from airing on all UK television channels.