‘Heart-pumping’ Toyota GR ad banned after complaints from green campaigners

A national newspaper advert aiming to showcase the “heart-pumping” excitement of Toyota’s GR Series of performance cars has been banned following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) by green campaigners.

Despite both The Guardian and i newspapers confirming that they had received no complaints about the advert for the Japanese carmaker’s sporty range – produced with input from its Gazoo Racing Team – the ASA banned the ad after receiving representation from three complainants, including the Worthing Green Party.

The advert, published in April and May, featured an image of three cars driving close together beneath a headline “THAT GR FEELING THE TOYOTA GR SERIES”.