ASA bans four Jaguar ads for glorifying high speeds

The UK's advertising watchdog The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned four Jaguar ads for ''glorifying of high speeds and encouraging dangerous driving''.

The ads, displayed on Jaguar's website, showed a car driving at high speeds through a tunnel in Switzerland and crossing over the single white lines in the middle of a road before it zoomed across a mountain road at night.

Also another ad showed a car being driven on open land at high speed to claims made in voice overs that ''the adaptive dynamics technology reacts 20 times faster than the human eye'' and ''It delivers a smooth drive by continuously analysing speed, steering and body movement of the car 500 times a second, giving every journey an instinctive, stable and agile ride.''

The advertising regulator received complaints from a number of people who said the ads ''glorified speed and encouraged dangerous driving''.

According to Jaguar, the ads were shot in Switzerland on closed sections of road on the Susten Pass and the Grimsel Pass, though the caption mistakenly omitted to say that.

The company added further that the ads emphasised the technical features and abilities of the cars and ''at no time demonstrated any dangerous driving''.

Advertising watchdog criticised Jaguar's 'irresponsible' focus on the speed and acceleration of their cars, emphasised by the sound of engines being revved and high tempo music.

The rap could however, come as a blessing in disguise for the UK sports and luxury car firm, whose latest slogan was: 'It's good to be bad,'  according to commentators.

In a Bond-like movie advert for the Jaguar F-Type, which had not been banned, Sir Ben intones: 'Have you ever  wondered why in movies, all the villains are played by  Brits?'

The end the ad text poses the challenging question reading:  'Jaguar. How alive are you?' to the sound of an engine revving.

The company has also lined up A-listers Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong and Tom Hiddlestone to play its 'villainous' ambassadors.

The company had also signed up David Beckham as its brand ambassador in China.

'Because we considered that speed was the main message of the ads and the ads portrayed the cars being driven in a dangerous manner, we concluded the ads were irresponsible and condoned dangerous driving', the ASA said.

The ASA added the overall effect of the four banned adverts was a focus on the speed and acceleration of the cars, emphasised by the sound of engines being revved, high tempo music and the use of blurred lines.