The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Currys pre-roll YouTube ad for displaying an e-scooter in what appears to be a public setting.
The electrical retailer’s advert aired on 29 October last year, showing two people riding e-scooters along a large outdoor path.
According to the Transport for London government website, riders of privately owned e-scooters can be fined up to £300 for using them on public roads or paths.
Towards the end of the Currys ad, text at the bottom of the screen stated: “Responsibility of users to comply with local and country laws. Products to be used on private land only, with the landowner’s permission, not on footpaths, cycle lanes, or roads.”
Though the retailer asserted that it had displayed the e-scooter laws on screen and that filming for the advert took place on a private track inside a velopark, members of the public nevertheless complained and challenged whether the video was “misleading” and “irresponsible”.
“Currys said they had taken care to avoid the perception that the electric scooters in the ad were being used in a public place,” the ASA said.
“They said they had ensured there were no pedestrians, motorists, road markings or parked cars in the ad, as they would usually be found in, or imply, a public space.”
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The standards watchdog ultimately ruled that the ad was deceitful as it gave the “overall impression” that it was legal to ride electric scooters in places other than private land.
The ASA added: “We noted the ad showed users riding the scooters on a paved track in what appeared to be a park in an urban setting, given the presence of streetlamps along the track and cranes and high-rise buildings in the distance.”
“We considered that although no other people were shown, consumers were likely to infer the setting was a public park, rather than private land.”
The self-regulatory authority stated that the ad breached Committee of Advertising (CAP) codes and that Currys must remove the video and not be “socially irresponsible” in misleading the public in the future.
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