Reason why Twix advert has been banned in UK as manufacturer speaks out

Adverts are absolutely everywhere, and there are strict rules around how they’re made and what they contain.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK’s regulator, keeping tabs on advertising campaigns and responding to complaints from people who reckon they’ve fallen foul of the rules.

While films, TV and video games have grown more and more explicit with violence, sexual content, and death-defying stunts, adverts are held to much stricter standards when it comes to whether they might influence people to do stupid things.

(Mars)

Mars Inc, parent company for Twix, Snickers, Mars Bars and more besides, has landed in hot water with the ASA over a recent Twix advert. The resultant ban means you won’t see it on telly or at your local cinema, with complaints being focused on whether it promotes dangerous driving.

The advert sees a man driving quickly down a mountainous road, and someone starts chasing him. Both drivers accelerate, with the pursued inexplicably opting to do a handbrake turn through a barrier and over the side of a cliff.

He lands upside down on a mirror image of himself and his car, roof to roof, and the bottom car then drives off into the sunset while the two versions of the same man share a Twix.

Now, you may view that as a bit of harmless fun, but sadly for Twix it’s been dubbed a threat to common sense.

Per the official ruling from the ASA, Mars Wrigley Confectionary defended the advert, claiming ‘the ad had a cinematic presentation and was set in a separate world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality’.

It continued: “They explained the ad was split into two parts. The first part had a good versus bad theme, reminiscent of classic films. The cars were shot driving at lawful speeds and any emulation would only reflect the legal and safe driving presented. They said they had removed identifiers of the real world from the road scenes, including vehicles, pedestrians, or road signage, to distance the setting from reality.

“The second part of the ad, a dual car performing a stunt that defied physics, depicted a scenario that was clearly exaggerated and not possible in reality. The surreal moment highlighted that the scene was clearly fictional and tongue in cheek.

(Mars)

“That was further emphasised by scenes of two hands operating a gear shift, a hand break turn that was not possible in real life and the man shown calmly driving off a cliff. They made sure the action was clearly in a fantasy world and would be impossible to recreate.”

Mars added that Twix is known for having a playful brand identity, and that the ad had a tongue-in-cheek or irreverent sense of humour about it.

Clearcast, an agency that supports companies by ‘clearing’ adverts against the ASA’s standards, was referenced in the ruling as saying: “[The] ad’s fantastical and cinematic presentation made it clear the driving was exaggerated and not intended to be emulated. It therefore did not encourage people to breach the Highway Code or suggest safe driving was boring.

“It used imaginative storytelling, using absurd elements and a Hollywood style, to project the message that ‘Two is More Than One’ and did so in a way that was unlikely to be understood as showing reasonable driving practices.”

This didn’t wash with the ASA, however, which argued: “The ASA therefore acknowledged that the ad contained some clearly fantastical elements in the latter part of the ad and had a cinematic feel overall.

“However, at the start of the ad the driver was shown on an ordinary road, when a car approached behind him. We considered the road was clearly realistic, albeit in an isolated and exotic location, with lane dividers visible and both cars ensuring they stayed on one side of the road, replicating real life.”

It continued: “We considered the emphasis on a chase, and the speed inherent to that, and the driving manoeuvres featured would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life on a public highway.

Mars Wrigley's defence didn't wash with the ASA (jetcityimage/Getty Images)

“Because we considered the driving depicted in the ads condoned unsafe driving, that appeared likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code, we concluded the ads were irresponsible.”

As a result of the ruling, the ad has been banned from airing in its current form, and Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK Ltd has been instructed not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that infringes upon the Highway Code in any future ads.

For the avoidance of doubt, FOODBible does not condone or recommend getting involved in car chases or evading capture by doing a handbrake turn over the side of a cliff. It’s not big and it’s not clever, okay?

FOODbible has reached out to Mars for comment.