UK’s advertising regulator bans BMW ads over misleading claim
13 Jul 2016
The UK advertising watchdog had banned an ad by BMW over its ''misleading'' claim that its high beam headlight technology prevented oncoming drivers from being dazzled.
According to the radio ad for the BMW 1 series car, its High Beam Assist technology meant ''oncoming traffic is never dazzled and you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road''.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about the misleading nature of the claim and exaggeration of the technology's capabilities.
BMW UK had claimed its High Beam Assist illuminated the road at night with full beam but a sensor located in the rear-view mirror holder monitored oncoming traffic and made the necessary adjustments to the beam.
The system was capable of detecting oncoming traffic at up to 1,000m and traffic ahead by up to 400m on straight roads.
It was possible that a delay of around 600 milliseconds to one second might occur if a vehicle approached from a curve while the sensor detected the lights of the oncoming car and turned down the high beam.
According to BMW, the delay was not long enough for oncoming traffic to be dazzled and noted that the Oxford dictionary described 'dazzle' as being ''if a strong light dazzles you, it is so bright that you cannot see for a short time''.
While disagreeing with the company, the ASA, upheld the complaint on the basis that the claim "oncoming traffic is never dazzled" would be likely interpreted as an absolute statement, with the understanding that the high beam assist function ensured oncoming drivers were never dazzled under any circumstances.
''We understood that there might be a delay of up to one second before the technology turned the high beam off. We considered that a second of full beam light could potentially dazzle an oncoming driver at short distances, for example, on a sharp bend,'' said the watchdog.
