An advert for the chocolate bar Twix has been banned for ‘encouraging dangerous driving’.
The short ad features a man who is involved in a high-speed car chase who crashes.
However, as he makes an impact with the other driver, his caramel-coloured car is sandwiched on top of another, like a Twix.
Following five complaints the advert was deemed ‘irresponsible’ and was pulled from the air.
Mars-Wrigley own Twix, along with other confectionary brands such as Snickers, M&M’s and Milky Way.
The company has claimed that the ad had a ‘cinematic presentation’ and was set in a ‘world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality’.
This was a view that was echoed by Clearcast, who is the non-governmental organisation that approves adverts.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that in its current form it ‘condoned unsafe driving’.
ASA claimed that the first half of the video ‘appeared likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code’ despite it featuring fantastical elements.
An ’emphasis on speed’ as well as ‘visible skid marks’ also helped contribute to the decision to ban it.
Mars defended the advert, saying the cars were ‘shot driving at lawful speeds and any emulation would only reflect the legal and safe driving presented’, the BBC report.
After the cars crash together, a Twix bar falls through the sunroofs of the two cars before they drive off together, still attached.
Accompanying this is a tagline which reads ‘two is more than one’.
In the ASA official ruling, it tells Mars ‘not tocondone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads.
This comes after a Next advert was banned earlier this year because of a single complaint over how the model looked – deeming it ‘irresponsible’.
The online ad for the clothing giant featured a model who was described as ‘unhealthily thin’ and also admitted digitally altering the image.
The camera angle and styling highlighted the slimness of her leg, the ASA said.
The model was sitting on a wooden block and her legs were extended towards the camera.
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