The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom has banned a Toyota advertisement for promoting behaviour that is damaging to the environment. The advertisement depicted Toyota’s Hilux model driving off-road through rural and wilderness environments, which was intercut with scenes showing the vehicle in urban settings. This was accompanied by the slogan “BORN TO ROAM”. The advertisement was criticised by the campaign group AdFree Cities, who argued that the advert encouraged environmentally harmful behaviour (a complaint that was subsequently upheld by the ASA).

In their response to the complaint, Toyota drew upon their wider environmental credentials and maintained that the production of the advertisement had been done responsibly. The ASA did not address these points as they were irrelevant. Toyota also argued that the advertisement showed the Hilux in the harsh environments it was designed for, and that their target market included specialised workers like farmers and forestry workers. On this point, the ASA said that although Toyota may have been targeting specialised vehicle users, these users were not shown. In addition, the wilderness scenes intercut with realistic urban environments gave the impression of driving across natural ecosystems with no apparent purpose, and with no regard for the environmental impact of this driving. The ASA therefore upheld the complaint for breaching rule 1.3 of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing, which requires marketing communications to be prepared with a sense of responsibility to both consumers and society. The decision reflects what the ASA increasingly sees as its mission in upholding environmental values.

For more information on sustainability claims and greenwashing in the UK please see here.