2 days ago
Five weird banned ads as Twix ordered to pull 'dangerous driving' advert
An advert for Twix has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency, which ruled it encourages dangerous driving - but it isn't the first advert to fall foul of the watchdog's rules
A new advert for chocolate bar Twix has been banned, with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordering it be pulled from air in its current form.
The advert saw a man take part in a car chase and then ended up in a crash, while eating a Twix, of course. It left a car that looks exactly the same as his own caramel-coloured vehicle on top of his; with the two cars sandwiched together, it's reminiscent of the chocolate bar itself.
The advertising watchdog has ruled that the advert encouraged "dangerous driving" and operating a car in a way "that appeared likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code" - after receiving five complaints about its content.
Mars-Wrigley, which owns Twix as well as a litany of other sweet treats like Maltesers, objected to the ban and defended its advert, explaining that it isn't meant to be realistic. The advert was a "cinematic presentation" and took place in a " world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality", it said.
Clearcast - the organisation which gave the all-clear to adverts before they appear on television - agreed, telling the ASA that in its view, it was obvious no one was meant to copy the kind of driving that was featured in the advert.
However, the ASA said that certain aspects of the advert meant it had to be changed, like "visible skid marks" on the road and the "emphasis on speed" telling Mars "not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads".
Twix is by no means the only company to fall foul of the ASA's rules in recent years - The Mirror looks back at five major adverts that have been banned for breaking the rules.
Tesco Mobile
Tesco was ordered to pull a series of advertisements back in 2022, for a cheeky campaign that made reference to swearwords - without actually swearing.
Reading, "What a load of shiitake," "For fettuccine's sake", and "They're taking the pistachio" the adverts may have been intended as playful, but they received 52 complaints.
People weren't happy, on the basis that they had been placed where children could see them so they were not appropriate, and the ASA banned the campaign, though Tesco Mobile defended itself by pointing out they had at no point actually used swearwords.
Rimmel
Make-up company Rimmel fell foul of the ASA with an online 'Back to School' advert it released that was eventually deemed inappropriate for young people, and sexist.
"Get ready to slay this back-to-school season. Get 25% off Multi-Tasker Concealer and other Rimmel faves…" the advert read, and featured imagery of an influencer applying their make up.
The ASA banned the advert on the basis that it "implied that girls or young women were more likely to succeed or do well when they went back to school if they wore make-up, in this case a concealing and contouring product".
Rimmel acknowledged it was a back to school advert, but denied that it was trying to imply children must apply make-up to attend school, or do well academically.
Calvin Klein
In 2024, fashion powerhouse Calvin Klein had an advert featuring singer FKA Twigs banned for "objectifying women".
Calvin Klein adverts have been known to feature a decent amount of skin for a long time, and the iconic tag line "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins" has gone down as one of the all-time advertising success stories.
However, this advert was a bridge too far for the ASA, showing the popstar wearing a denim shirt that had half-fallen off her body, showing one side of her bum and half her breast.
Two people complained about the advert calling it "overly sexualised" and claiming it was offensive, and the ASA pulled the plug on it.
Calvin Klein strongly denied the advert was objectifying, saying that it produced similar ads to this one before, and that the singer was a "confident and empowered woman" who actively collaborated with the brand and was happy with the image before it was released, per The Standard.
Wahed
Wahed, an online investment company, was ordered to pull a series of poster ads from the London transport network earlier this year.
The ASA received more than 70 complaints about the adverts - which saw banknotes set on fire, including dollars featuring the words the 'United States of America' - from people claiming it "offensive" per The Guardian.
The posters had been featured on buses and the London Underground - and part of the ASA's reasoning for banning them was their placement, arguing that tourists from the Eurozone and the US would have been likely to see them, and possibly be offended.
Wahed said in defence of its adverts that they were not criticising a particular group of people, and that its campaign aimed to promote a type of investment that is in line with Islamic teachings, including that interest should not be charged on loans.
The ASA said, "Although we acknowledged Wahed Invest's view that they had not directly criticised a specific group, and that depictions of burning banknotes were commonly encountered, we considered the burning of banknotes would have caused serious offence to some viewers."
Pretty Little Thing
The ASA has very strict rules about any adverts that are sexualising or suggestive using underage girls. Clothing retailer Pretty Little Thing fell foul of the watchdog when it used then-16-year-old Alabama Barker in a campaign on its website, wearing clothes that were revealing and formfitting.
"Channel that teen dream realness with barely-there micro mini skirts," the images were captioned, and altogether the ASA found the pictures to be "sexually suggestive" and banned the lot.
