A complaint about a Fiat advert centred on whether or not the 500 was built in Italy has been rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority.
A TV ad, for the Fiat 500, showed the cars driving down a beach in Italy and into the sea, followed by a scene in which the cars emerged from the River Thames next to Tower Bridge. A voice-over stated, "Just arrived from Italy. The Fiat 500 spring/summer collection."
It attracted four complaints from viewers who argued the car is not built in Italy so the advert was misleading.
The ASA considered in the overall context of the ad, viewers would understand the claim "Just arrived from Italy" to relate to the design and style of the cars, made by an Italian brand, rather than being a claim about where the cars were manufactured and the claim was not, therefore, misleading.
"Notwithstanding that, we considered that even if the claim was interpreted to mean that the cars were manufactured in Italy, that interpretation would have been unlikely to have influenced consumer's decisions in relation to the product. We concluded the ad was not misleading."
An award-winning journalist and editor, with two decades of experience covering the motor retail industry, and accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) plus the National Council for the Training of Journalist (NCTJ)
As editor of AM since 2016, Tim is responsible for its media content, planning and production across AM's multiple channels, including the website, digital reports, webinars, social media and the editorial content of AM's events, Automotive Management Live and the AM Awards. His focus is on interviewing senior leaders of franchised dealer groups and motor manufacturer national sales companies to examine latest developments in UK motor retail.
John Montgomery - 06/06/2013 03:20
I wonder what would happen if 4 Wal-Mart shoppers complained about the fact that 80% of the merchandise in the store was made by Chinese manufacturers?