Toyota.
A free-to-air TV advertisement for Toyota will be modified after breaching Ad Standard’s Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety codes.
The ad was flagged for depicting dangerous and potentially illegal behaviour.
“Dogs are meant to be tethered or otherwise safely transported to ensure safety while travelling,” the report states.
The ad featured several scenes where dogs chase and jump on the back of a Toyota Hilux.
In the end, the vehicle appears to be carrying a large ball of dogs ready to go to work. A man watching this says, "Even the dogs know, you don't send a ute to do a Hilux job."
The advertisement was created by Saatchi & Saatchi Australia and directed by FINCH.
The panel found the ad portrayed driving practices or actions which, if they were to take place on a road or road related area, might breach a related law.
The panel also found that the ad depicted behaviour that was contrary to community standards on animal safety.
“The ad is light-hearted and clearly relied on hyperbole,” the advertiser said.
“All activities during the filming of the ad were undertaken with appropriate permissions and controls in place, including rules pertaining to animal handling.
“Many of the scenes relied on stuffed prop dogs, and not actual dogs. The opening scenes reflects a rural context, showing a dog breed commonly associated with livestock work. Such animals are typically exempt from restraining or tethering requirements.”
A minority of the panel considered that reasonable adults would realise that transporting untethered animals is unsafe, and would not do so because of an advertisement.
However, the majority felt that the behaviour shown, even if light-hearted and possibly exaggerated, was contrary to community expectations on safety.
“State and territory rules typically require animals to be safely transported,” the panel said.
“Working dogs involved in moving livestock are typically exempt from these rules. However, the ad does not feature rural or farm settings exclusively, and that the dogs are not shown moving livestock.
“This could be interpreted to suggest that exemptions to the rules do not apply.”
“The impression created in the ad was that the animals are not safely tethered, which appears to be contrary to state and territory rules pertaining to the transport of animals.”
The panel found the ad breached section 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics.
Toyota will modify the advertisement.
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