Super high-speed Bentley in Northern Territory drives foul of advertising standards

[Express]

Super high-speed Bentley in Northern Territory drives foul of advertising standards

30 June, 2016

Matt O'Sullivan



See link below for video



Bentley ad pulled after complaint

Luxury car maker Bentley pull an ad filmed on the Stuart Highway after a man complained it promoted unsafe driving and speeding.

An ad featuring Australian racing legend John Bowe driving a $428,000 Bentley at up to 330 kilometres an hour on a highway in the Northern Territory has run foul of advertising standards.

The online ad showcased the two-time Bathurst 1000 champion driving the Bentley Continental GT Speed on the Stuart Highway, which has an open limit between Alice Springs and the Ali Curung rail overpass.

It focused on the speed the prestige car could reach and included shots of its speedometer, which by the end of the ad reached 330km an hour.


Racing legend John Bowe drove a Bentley Continental GT Speed in the ad. Photo: Supplied


A disclaimer at the beginning of the ad noted that Bowe drove in "controlled circumstances" and the car was "thoroughly checked before the run".

However, the Advertising Standards Bureau found the ad breached the motor vehicle industry's advertising code of practice because it portrayed someone driving in excess of speed limits in most of Australia where it was broadcast.

While a long section of the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory has an open limit, the bureau said that in all other parts of Australia the speed depicted in the ad would have breached the law.

Harold Scruby, the chairman of the Pedestrian Council who lodged the complaint, welcomed the decision as he believed the ad glorified speed and showed "incredibly dangerous" behaviour.

"Speed is the biggest killer on our roads. You only have to have a kangaroo hop out in front of you and you are dead," he said.

"Every other state in Australia has a maximum speed of 110. This is the only place in the world where unrestricted speed is allowed on undivided roads and without hard shoulders."

Bentley told the Advertising Standards Bureau that it would remove the ad from its YouTube channel.

The car maker said the Northern Territory government had helped in closing a section of the Stuart Highway for the filming of the ad.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/super-high...29-gpujjj.html