If you wanted proof that the Nanny State is alive and well, the latest decision from the Advertising Standards Agency should be more than adequate.
You may have already seen some of Jaguar’s ‘Good to Be Bad’ TV adverts. They were originally aired at the 2014 US Superbowl but eventually made their way to UK TV screens, with six individual ads extolling the virtues of being a bad ‘un. The trouble is, the ASA thought that Jaguar was a bit too good at being bad.
One slot in particular caught their attention and has now earnt itself a ban from our tellys. Titled ‘The Art Of Villany’, it stars British actor Tom Hiddleston (he plays evil Loki in the Thor movies) and a bright white F-Type V8 coupé. The first half of the ad is fine, with Hiddleston driving slowly around a car park and describing the attributes for a good villain. Then, according to the ASA, it all gets horribly irresponsible.
First of all the F-Type is seen to accelerate out of the car park, something that was considered to be ‘encouraging irresponsible driving’ and ‘appeared to suggest significant speed within an enclosed environment’. OK, so the F-Type’s sculpted rear displays an oversteery wiggle on the ramp, but isn’t that what traction control is for?
However, that was just the tip of the iceberg, as the ASA took a very dim view of the following scenes shot on the streets of London. Despite the Jag never exceeding the speed limits and the presence of a police escort during filming, the ASA has decided that it looks far too racy for our easily-influenced minds. The ASA states : “We considered that the second part of the ad suggested that the car was being driven at excessive speeds and that the ad therefore encouraged irresponsible driving. The ad must not appear again in its current form.”
Miserable, sanctimonious killjoys.