anyone who complained to the ASA about them banning the rover advert after one complaint had a reply ?
whats their excuse i'd be interested to know...
they must have replied to someone ?
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Not heard a thing. Nada, are you surprised?
Mind you I would like to ask something I asked in an older ASA thread.
Has anyone instead of just supporting Rover by having a go over the ad, actually supported them in the best way possible.......by actually buying one of their cars?
If more folks supported British industry, like happens in Germany, we might get this place and UK manufacturing industry out of the mire its in right now.
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we need a friendly mp to ask some pretty obvious questions...
like how many complaints about their decision they received...
what about that independant doctor that got in ?
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He's my MP actually, might be worth a punt, what do others reckon?
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well i got in touch with ASA, but have had no reply.
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Go for it Stuart - it's about time the balance was redressed. Haven't we had enough of the Guardian Readers' Society dictating to us over recent years?
I've just read that some London boroughs are to introduce EVEN LOWER speed 'homezones', in which cars will be strongly discouraged and limited to 10mph. Children will be encouraged to play in the streets and motorists must give way.
Just how potty is this 'government' of ours?
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About as potty as you can get, Andy. Encouraging childeren to play in the streets is on a par with encouraging them to play on the railway lines. In a year or two when child deaths have risen dramatically, instead of realising this was caused by their own folly, the anti-car brigade will be pushing for a five mph limit and a man with a red flag to walk in front of the car.
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Oops, forgot. I too contacted ASA about the Rover ad, but no reply as yet....
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Hi All
Received a reply this morning, but it does not say anything. Letter copied in its entirety below.
Dear Mr Beattie
MG ROVER
Thank you for your comments concerning our recent adjudication on the advertising for MG Rover. I apologise for the delay in our response.
The ASA's Council, the body charged with making the difficult decision as to whether or not an advertisement should be withdrawn or amended, is guided by the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion (The Codes), which states:
Advertisers should not make speed or acceleration claims the predominant message of their advertisments. However, it is legitimate to give general information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power,roadholding and top speed.
It is the ASA's job to interpret the Codes, and it is not a responsibility we take lightly. In this instance the ASA Council judged that the image used in the MG advertisement created the feeling of extreme speed and that the predominant message of the campaign was speed. This adjudication was similar an earlier adjudication that we had made on the advertising by this company which was published on 8 August 2001.
The ASA is completely independent of Government and is at the centre of a system of self-regulation. The Codes, which are administered by the ASA, are written by the advertising industry, which accepts its responsibility to keep advertisements legal, decent, honest and truthful. The ASA receives some 12,000 complaints a year and investigates just over a third of those. Only a few generate controversy. Most of our work concerns advertising that people consider to be misleading, untruthful or dishonest.
I accept that you are disappointed with our decsion, but hope that the above helps to clarify our position.
Yours sincerely
Donna Mitchell
Communications Team
I shall compose a letter to the above asking some questions and will let backroomers know what happens
By the way did you use the complaints form as opposed to the e mail address? They can ignore e mails but must answer a complaint
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Maybe you should ask the how Honda get away with ' BYE BYE GTI' on their adverts?
Andrew
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I used the complaints form bearing that in mind though have yet to hear anything. I still think it was wrong for them to bar the advert and think the response you have received is a load of meaningless bullsh!t personally. There are other similar adverts around (Bye Bye GTI anybody?) which have not been removed. I am not saying they should be either!
Exactly where in the MG advert is the predominant message "speed" or "acceleration"?
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Here's my reply as well.
Thank you for your e-mail concerning our recent adjudication on the
advertising for MG Rover. I apologise for the delay in our response.
The ASA's Council, the body charged with making the difficult decision as to whether or not an advertisement should be withdrawn or amended, is guided by the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion (The Codes), which state:
48.2 Advertisers should not make speed or acceleration claims the predominant message of their advertisements. However, it is legitimate to give general information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power, roadholding and top speed.
It is the ASA's job to interpret the Codes, and it is not a responsibility we take lightly. In this instance the ASA Council judged that the image used in the MG advertisement created the feeling of extreme speed and that the predominant message of the campaign was speed. This adjudication was similar an earlier adjudication that we had made on the advertising by this company
which was published on 8 August 2001.
The ASA is completely independent of Government and is at the centre of a system of self-regulation. The Codes, which are administered by the ASA, are written by the advertising industry, which accepts its responsibility to keep advertisements legal, decent, honest and truthful. The ASA receives some 12,000 complaints a year and investigates just over a third of those.
Only a few generate controversy. Most of our work concerns advertising that people consider to be misleading, untruthful or dishonest.
I accept that you are disappointed with our decision, but hope that the above helps to clarify our position.
Donna Mitchell
Communications Team
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Are these cars good for anything but posing? A cousin of mine test drove one a few weeks ago and said although it was fun she thought the sporty springs would become irritating in normal use. She's right in the target market for the one based on the 25 (mid-twenties professional with no kids and serious loose change in her purse) but she thought the aggressive styling would become dated quite quickly, and she wants something to last a few years. She's in the process of buying a Golf TDI, which she thought felt quicker and more solid.
Does anyone know if they are selling?
Chris
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I too received a reply from the ASA this morning, but I won't bother to copy it here as it is the same as Alyn's. Looks like the Government (don't know which one) has lumbered the ASA with some half-witted anti-car code of practice drawn up by a group of tree huggers and safety Nazis, and the ASA has no choice but to comply. If that's the case, I feel rather sorry for them. So how do you change the code of practice?
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Michael: re your response
Para 48.2 of the code as quoted "Advertisers should not make speed or acceleration claims the predominant message of their advertisements. However, it is legitimate to give general information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration and mid-range statistics, braking power, roadholding and top speed." is a typical example of the nanny State and muddled politically correct thinking.
It is not illegal to sell a high performance car, only to drive it in an illegal manner. Virtually anything sold can be mis-used and virtually every car sold in the UK is capable of exceeding the legal limit. You can't even sell a table-knife to a minor. How many murders have been committed with a table knife?
There is no attempt by the ASA to quantify the speed allegedly depicted in the advert. Is it 69mph or 71mph? Who Knows. Just think of a figure.
How many rapes and murders have been inspired by lingerie adverts, I wonder. There is a stronger argument for banning those, surely.
These busy-bodies make me sick.
Rant over for today.
Beam me up Scotty!
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Yes - I've had a reply but the words double dutch and cr*p come to mind. Their reply to my comments is as follows:
Thank you for your comments on the recent ASA adjudication on the MG Rover
advertising campaign. I note your disagreement with the ASA's decision on
this matter.
The ASA's Council, the body charged with making the difficult decision as to
whether or not an advertisement should be withdrawn or amended, is guided by
the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion (The Codes), which
state:
"Advertisers should not make speed or acceleration claims the predominant
message of their advertisements. However it is legitimate to give general
information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration and mid-range
statistics, braking power, roadholding and top speed." Indeed the Codes
contain a specific set of rules on Motoring advertising and you can view
these on our website.
It is the ASA's job to interpret the Codes, and it is not a responsibility
we take lightly. The ASA is completely independent of Government and is at
the centre of a system of self-regulation. The Codes, which are
administered by the ASA, are written by the advertising industry, which
accepts its responsibility to keep advertisements legal, decent, honest and
truthful.
I accept that you are disappointed with our decision, but hope that the
above helps to clarify our position.
Regards,
<<...OLE_Obj...>>
Donna Mitchell
Communications Team
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David
Glad to hear they are selling well. I was (and actually still am) worried they had made a mistake with the Z range. I actually agree with my cousin that the cars will date quickly, but it could be that they've judged the moment well: the UK economy is on fire at the moment (though for how long who knows?) and a company like Rover isn't interested in the second hand market, just what they can shift now. The 75 Tourer is a different matter. I'm waiting for them to dip under 5K. In a diesel, of course.
Chris
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ChrisR
They are indeed selling well - to that effect demand outstrips supply at the moment. ZR models are proving the most popular (in Trophy Blue) ZS Models (180BHP model with the big rear wing) is selling strongly. The ZT has attracted some very discerning drivers.
Run of the mill Rover models are still selling well - much interest is shown in the 75 Tourer models. We are selling three 75 Tourers a week presently.
David
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David Lacey wrote:
>
> ChrisR
> They are indeed selling well - to that effect demand
> outstrips supply at the moment. ZR models are proving the
> most popular (in Trophy Blue) ZS Models (180BHP model with
> the big rear wing) is selling strongly. The ZT has attracted
> some very discerning drivers.
> Run of the mill Rover models are still selling well - much
> interest is shown in the 75 Tourer models. We are selling
> three 75 Tourers a week presently.
Drinks are on DL then!
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I have to wonder if the (apparently 16) people who complained all got the same "cut and pasted" letter - I bet they did not...
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we should ask them in the spirit of democracy to publish the figures for numbers of members of the public who have compained about this judgement, versus the no who have written in to agree
get your mp to ask...
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Surely the ads are 'decent, honest and truthful' ?
The ads make no attempt to hide the fact that the cars are high performance models capable of good acceleration and high speeds.
No grounds for banning them, then.
And if it is the 'appearance of speed' that is so upsetting, what the hell is wrong with travelling at 70mph - on the motorway? The ads don't show the car hurtling past schools or through twisty-road villages do they?
No grounds for a ban then.
Let's not be fobbed off by this cr&p. Let's all write again!
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I've had an identical reply to the ones above. OK, so one of them has "48.2" in it which the others don't.
However I've had exactly the same email response (OK, the email had "48.2" in it, which the letter didn't) to this general complaint and query:
It has been brought to my attention that car advertisements are being banned
because, for example, they depict cars with blurred wheels giving the
impression that they are rotating. Or against a blurred background, impling
that they are capable of motion.
I would appreciate your comments on the following:
The basic principles of the Codes are that advertisements should be:
a) legal, decent, honest and truthful
Surely if a car is depicted as incapable of motion or of having non rotating
wheels this is not "decent, honest and truthful" and so should be illegal?
And surely if a fast, sporty car has been produced, and it is advertised as
slow and unresponsive to the accelerator then this is not only NOT "decent,
honest and truthful" but DANGEROUS and so NOT:
b) prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society
Surely if a car is misrepresented, then this shows a LACK of "a sense of
responsibility to consumers and to society"?
c) in line with the principles of fair competition generally accepted in
business
Surely if a car is produced to compete with an established brand with a
particular image, say a sporting one, and that new, competing, car is not
allowed to advertise the attributes on which it will compete in its niche
market, say sporty coupe's, then that is NOT "in line with the principles of
fair competition generally accepted in business"!
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