Apparently, it promotes unsafe driving.
It seems as though regulators think that driving on a dirt road in a straight line is wrong.
We won’t play stupid and say that we don’t understand why this commercial on the ultra-desirable too-cool-for-North-America Toyota GR Yaris was pulled for circulation. We will say however that this might a new low-point in overreacting.
Toyota GR Yaris | Photo: Toyota
From what we gather from the 30-second spot, three siblings are on their way to their parents’ place for a 30th wedding anniversary party. While one sister is on time and the other is slightly behind schedule, the brother appears to have forgotten altogether. He receives a call while working on his Celica and quickly jumps in his Toyota GR Yaris. We see him driving in a straight line on a dirt road (which we assume is commonplace in Australia) and a moment later, the scene cuts to the sisters showing up at the house only to discover that he arrived ahead of time, and with a cake.
Apparently, this is too much for the Federal Chamber for Automotive Industries Motor Vehicle Advertising Code as it goes against two of its clauses: “unsafe driving” and “breaking the speed limit”. Toyota took the claim seriously and responded by saying that it wanted only “to show the Yaris’s versatility across a range of Australian road types”, according to Car Throttle.
Toyota GR Yaris | Photo: Toyota
