As is true in most cases, the removal of these advertisements came from a complaint. Adfree Cities, a handful of groups attempting to remove advertising from cities altogether, partnered with the U.K. campaign group Badvertising to issue a complaint against the Toyota ads in question. Their accusations state that Toyota is endorsing the use of vehicles in a way that disregards their harmful effect on the environment.
“These adverts epitomize Toyota’s total disregard for nature and the climate, by featuring enormous, highly polluting vehicles driving at speed through rivers and wild grasslands,” said Veronica Wignall, a co-director at Adfree Cities, according to The Guardian.
Wignall also alleges that, since most vehicles are driven in urban circumstances and rarely see much off-road use day-to-day, the ads are disconnected from reality and unnecessarily promote the destruction of the environment. Over 75% of SUV and small truck registrations in the U.K. are in urban areas, so it seems this argument does have some basis in reality. It seems that was good enough for the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Agency to remove the ads from publication.
