Sketchy Scene Gets Land Rover Ad Banned in UK
The parking sensors on the Land Rover Defender work fine — but don’t trust them with your life.
OK, if the short of those three Land Rover Defenders perched on the edge of that cliff gives you the willies? You’re not alone. Even as someone who grew up in small planes and would be disowned if I revealed a fear of heights to my family, it makes me nervous. So if you’re on the same page, rest assured that you’re in good company, as the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned the new advertisement, which it believes it to be dangerous. And the reasoning is pretty straightforward.
In the ad — which I’ve embedded below — there’s a sequence which shows a driver using the backup camera to navigate up to the edge of a huge cliff, which is sketchy enough. The rub here is that the parking senses on the Defender don’t see empty space as a potential problem. So while they’re perfectly able of stopping you from reversing into a boulder, street sign, or another Defender in the parking lot of Whole Foods, they’re just not going to see a ledge like this as a problem. Even if driving over it would result in certain death.
As out friends over at the UK’s Car Dealer Magazine noted, Land Rover tried to argue there was a boulder in the frame that would have triggered a warning. But the ASA wisely decided to error on the side of caution here, and gave the spot the axe. That said, as someone who lives in a place where the populace has to be warned not to use a hair dryer in the shower, I wholly support the move. If there’s anything that watching video of say, drivers abusing Tesla’s autopilot feature, has taught me, it’s that people put way too much faith in modern electronic nannies.
Fortunately, the ban doesn’t impact the ability of folks to watch the video on YouTube, as while it might be dangerous, it’s also a gorgeous bit of footage. Speaking of dangerous, but sure-to-be stunning footage, we’re just a few days away from the release of the new Range Rover Sport and a spectacular stunt that’ll have viewers captivated. So enjoy this clip, and stay tuned for updates on the Range Rover’s more athletic cousin!
Photos: YouTube