Ford’s "Casino Royal" Ad cut due to misleading implications!

Remember Ford’s Casino Royal Ad that we showed you last year? Well, take a good look at it cause you’re not going to see it again on TV. See, Britain’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) announced that it has banned the "Focus Zetec Climate" ad that featured footage from the new Bond film 'Casino Royale' due to complaints from two viewers who said that it was misleading because it mainly showed the Mondeo (it appeared in the film), but ended by showing the Focus Zetec Climate which didn’t participate in the movie at all. Who can blame them... -Continued: Click “Read More…” below to see ASA’s official press release

ASA PRESS RELEASE

Ad
A TV ad, for the Ford Focus Zetec Climate, showed a car entering a bright white stage in black silhouette. The ad contained footage from the new Bond film 'Casino Royale' interspersed with shots of the car. On-screen text stated "Retail only. Ends December 18th." After further scenes from the film, the James Bond gun barrel revealed a car in silhouette. On-screen text stated "FOCUS ZETEC CLIMATE LICENCED AND LOADED FROM JUST £12,995". The ad ended with the on-screen text "CASINO ROYALE IN CINEMAS NOVEMBER 16" followed by the Ford logo.

Issue
Two viewers said the ad was misleading because it mainly showed the Ford Mondeo, which they said was due to be released in 2007 and appeared in the film 'Casino Royale', but ended by showing the Focus Zetec Climate. The viewers said the ad misleadingly implied that the Focus Zetec Climate was used in the film 'Casino Royale'.

Response
Ford believed the ad was not misleading and said it promoted Ford's link with the film 'Casino Royale'. They explained that the main part of the ad, which contained scenes from the film purely to engage and entertain viewers, showed the link between Ford and Bond. They asserted that some scenes from the film featured a car whilst others did not and that the ad's final scenes gave specific details of the Focus Zetec Climate's name, price and image.

Ford provided the ASA with three ads, which featured three different Ford vehicles alongside James Bond imagery, to further demonstrate the wide-reaching nature of the Ford and Bond agreement.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) reiterated that Ford had negotiated an exclusive brand association deal with Sony / Eon, whereby Ford promoted the 'Casino Royale' film launch-date in return for using the Bond assets and iconography across advertising for the Ford brand. They said that had resulted in various national press ads showing Bond imagery alongside the Ford Ka, Fiesta and Focus, for example. They explained that they approved the ad on the basis that the connection between the Bond film and Ford went beyond the Ford Mondeo that was featured in the film and related to a range of Ford products.

Assessment Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that Ford and Sony / Eon had a contract which involved running a series of promotions linking Ford cars with the film 'Casino Royale'. We noted the final scene of the ad showed the Focus Zetec Climate, with on-screen text identifying it as such, alongside a specific price. Nevertheless, we considered it was not clear that the car that appeared in shots interspersed with footage from the film was different from the car identified at the end of the ad and that viewers were likely to believe that only one car was being advertised throughout the whole ad. We considered that, because of the difficulty in differentiating between the two cars, the ad was likely to give the misleading impression that the Focus Zetec Climate was used in the film 'Casino Royale', which could make it more attractive to some viewers.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.4.1 (Visual techniques and special effects).

Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.