One of the old commercials, which demonstrates the off-road capabilities of a pickup truck, caused criticism from the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). We are talking about footage of a dozen cars driving along the bed of a dry river. The department believed that in this way Toyota demonstrates a lack of social responsibility regarding the environment.
In addition to the video, the ASA also banned the use of an advertising poster that depicted several Toyota Hiluxes in the wild in clouds of dust. The reason is the same – a photograph can encourage someone to irresponsibly go off-road to the detriment of nature. Carscoops reports that this is the first time that the ASA has introduced a ban on advertising that violates environmental social responsibility rules.
Toyota
Toyota defended itself by saying that the commercial, which dates back to 2020, was filmed in Slovenia on private property with the consent of the owner. The company also recalled that Toyota has been developing in the field of electrification and taking care of the environment since 1997. But the advertising was still blocked. It didn’t help that the Hilux was designed as a vehicle for tough environments, including in industries such as agriculture and forestry where a pickup truck and its off-road capabilities make perfect sense.
Earlier this year, the ASA blocked advertising for Toyota and Hyundai electric vehicles. Then the ban included promotional materials in which Hyundai promised that the Ioniq 5 could be charged at a 350-kilowatt station in just 18 minutes, and Toyota talked about charging the bZ4X in 30 minutes using a 150-kilowatt device. The supervisory authority considered that the indicators claimed by the companies were obtained under ideal conditions and do not take into account real user experience.
They are not your trucks: tuning pickups
