Suzuki Swift Sport too quick for TV

By David Zalstein | April 17th, 2012

FIND DEALS

The little Champion Yellow Suzuki Swift Sport with HOT-001 number plates in Suzuki’s new television ad has caused more heat than Suzuki had banked on with the ad getting pulled regulators.

The add received numerous complaints in regards to portraying irresponsible ‘hoon’ driving, an intentional loss of traction, linking speeding and dangerous driving with sex appeal, improper wearing of seatbelts, driving with both headlights and fog lights illuminated together and representing a female becoming “increasingly ‘turned-on’ in a bizarre sexual way”.

The ad shows a couple in a Suzuki Swift Sport driving through a multi-storey car park with the apparent ‘heat’ of the car triggering sprinklers. As the female passenger gets ‘hot’ she is shown fanning herself with her hand before the male pulls up into a parking spot and the two get out. Watch the ad below.

Suzuki Swift Sport 'Hot Hatch' TVC – AdNews

The Advertising Standards Bureau determined that the commercial breaches clause 2(a) of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Advertising for Motor Vehicles and Voluntary Code of Practice due to the “combination of the firm depression of the accelerator pedal, the increase in engine revs and the sped up footage [giving] an overall impression of reckless speed” deemed to depict unsafe driving.

The ASB dismissed complaints regarding the use of fog lights because “the Australian Road Rules (2012) make no reference to the use of fog lights in a multi-storey car park”.

In response to the other complaints received the ASB said, “At no point in the advertisement does the driver appear to lose control of the vehicle”, “both the driver and the passenger are both shown wearing seatbelts when in the vehicle”, and “whilst it is not necessary for the woman to be wearing a low cut dress the dress is in keeping with typical attire for a woman to wear on a date and that her breasts are adequately covered”.

Suzuki will modify the commercial to remove the scenes with the offending accelerator pedal and tachometer.

The Suzuki Swift Sport was launched in Australia in February 2012.

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TG

Ah nanny state-ism, don’t ya just love it!
- FanBoi
  
  NOT nanny state-ism mate! don’t you understand, this a Suzuki ad campaign to get more attention and notice. And it obviously works!
Braedz

Bloody hell…what is this country coming to! While they are at it, they may as well ban the Toyota Camry ad because of the guy jumping off the cliff into the ocean…geez! Society is wrapped up in cotton wool these days.
- falcodore
  
  And that Camry ad is more realistic because like him, most people, when they sobered up and realised they bought a Camry, would probably jump off a cliff too!… I know i would.
  
  He must’ve bought it on a dare from his dear old nan : )
  
  I’m going to start complaining about religious ads. They are the most offensive ads on TV, they keep assuming i’m not intelligent enough to realise there’s no such thing as imaginary friends. Stop shoving that s#!t down my throat you god-bothering boofheads! I don’t need to believe in something that doesn’t exist to make me feel better about myself!
  
  #rant over, have a nice day : )
Daniel Dacey

I don’t think her breasts are going anywhere. They are held in place by lots of silicon from the look of it.

But really, there is nothing at all wrong with this ad and really its time that the fun police were told to go away and stop complaining about everything.
save it for the track

what about the Suzuki advert where the female driver ‘races’ the bloke doing parkour to get coffee. That includes several incidents of trespassing by the bloke, and the driving seems a bit reckless given the back lanes the driver seems to be rushing through. With this advert with the yellow car and the enhanced model could’t they simply ad a disclaimer of “filmed under controlled conditions”? Seems as though the passenger isn’t at any risk either given the extra airbags available on that side of the car….
Bigbird

What the hell is wrong with that ad? Seriously, what’s happening here? Are we all still in primary school?
Heaven forbid they let slip the big secret on how to propel a car forward. Get rid of tacho’s, they turn people into hoons. Start fining women for showing a bit too much boob coz women NEVER show cleavage or fan their face when hot. Give me/us a break.
Legnab

Political correctness gone mad , some tree hugging left wing pinko green complained , one is all you need to grind the wheels to a stop .
- Blair Waldorf
  
  I dont care for either side of Australian politics. But seriously? you’d think it’s the conservative right that would be complaining about this and not the less conservative left… awkward for you.
- Blitzkrieg
  
  like the one person who complained about our live cattle exports to Indonesia so the govt has a knee jerk reaction,bans it and ruins it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=688632503 Ben Chablis

This is ridiculous, What a joke! Nanny State yes we are!
MisterZed

The ad getting pulled doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Suzukis are rubbish anyway.
- Tony
  
  dont feed the troll
- Zuki
  
  is that because you drive a proton…
  - MisterZed
    
    Wtf? My car was nearly $40k new.
Dimka100

Anyone who thinks this add should be pulled because it suggests hoonish behavior should probably go quickly and retire themselves in a retirement village … FFS this country is turning into the dumbest country of this century …
- Shak
  
  One Word. ‘Murica.
http://www.facebook.com/Gomoau Nathan Merritt

man this is just silly.. well the ads have been playing on youtube for yonks.. it’s only when they come to national tv stuff starts to happen, Go figure!
HSRboy

What about the Veloster ad where they have a burnout?
- Monk
  
  My thoughts every time I see that ad – and then I remember the power/torque figures for the Veloster and realise it is all just make believe so it is ok…
Captain Nemo

Blame Harold Scruby

Sruby is the CEO of the Pedestrian council of Australia. He (Scruby) complains about most if not all car adverts on TV. IIRC he complained about the Holden Adventra ad a few years back because it was being driven on a beach only to be shot down in flames because the beach used was one of those public road beaches.
john

We’re being run by a bunch of wowsers in this country. I know who the real culprit is here. PM Gillard. She’s been blamed for everything else might as well throw this one on the pile too!
- Blair Waldorf
  
  LOL, somehow i dont think she has any effect on stuff like this…
  - Legnab
    
    More like the bob brown brigade
- JuliaAbbottSaysNo
  
  If anything, we should join her in blaming Tony Abbott! Surely he said no to this ad too?
Marque16

Where do these morons that complain come from?
http://profile.yahoo.com/LOHEGNJELUC5SEYBUDZJJ2N5BQ Matt

Seriously ? The sped up footage is clearly sped up for artistic purposes rather than trying to simulate speed, the female appears to be laughing at the fact the sprinklers are going off behind them then as opposed to the near orgasmic state the picture above and the complainant would have you believe. The only possible issue I could see is the fact the car does a hand brake stop and slide for about three inches and an enjoyable if not maybe unnecessary boob shot mid way through.

Three words to the complainant, “GET A LIFE” It’s probably the same half wit that got the BMW Z4 ad banned cause they were making a painting with a car. Clearly something we were all going to go out and do on public roads had this ad been allowed on air any longer.
Dave S

I thought it was bad enough years ago when they stopped Holden driving their utes in circles away from the road in a padock, while playing ACDC. Now all Holden, seem allowed to do is show a static ute and play some backbroup ACDC.
42 = The Answer!

Lets just ban TV ads full stop because they’re a bad influence
- Just Sayin’
  
  Let’s just ban life, as life has been shown to be the leading cause of death.
  
  Seriously tho, the real issue is – who has the “power” to have their view of life imposed on others. At the end of the day anything can be banned, such as women showing their face in public as occurs in some contexts. At issue is not only the claim that this is in fact the right thing to do, but also the power of those behind it to enforce it as the right thing to do. What is the basis of their power …?
- Just Sayin’
  
  Let’s just ban life, as life has been shown to be the leading cause of death.
  
  Seriously tho, the real issue is – who has the “power” to have their view of life imposed on others. At the end of the day anything can be banned, such as women showing their face in public as occurs in some contexts. At issue is not only the claim that this is in fact the right thing to do, but also the power of those behind it to enforce it as the right thing to do. What is the basis of their power …?
- Just Sayin’
  
  Let’s just ban life, as life has been shown to be the leading cause of death.
  
  Seriously tho, the real issue is – who has the “power” to have their view of life imposed on others. At the end of the day anything can be banned, such as women showing their face in public as occurs in some contexts. At issue is not only the claim that this is in fact the right thing to do, but also the power of those behind it to enforce it as the right thing to do. What is the basis of their power …?
Superbee_440

thank God for YouTube….
Knin

That’s crazy
MisterZed

Who cares about the ad getting pulled?? It’s a SWIFT for g-d’s sake. It’s a good thing the ads gone.
- zuki
  
  you still driving that proton..
Devil’s Advocate

What a load of rubbish. I can’t understand how a car company isn’t allowed to show this, yet it is fine for a flavoured milk company to show a ute reversing at high speed, after smoking up the back wheels, behind a truck on a “public road” so someone can jump from the tray onto the trailer. While all of this is happening the passenger has her head and shoulders hanging backwards out of the side window watching the guy in the tray jump. It is ok because they are selling flavoured milk and not a car. What the…
It is like that Mazda ad they banned many years ago (incidently one of the first commercials to be banned in Australia for “encouraging hooning”) because the seatbelt reminder light on the dash was raising it’s arms in enjoyment when the car was going around corners etc.I also wouldn’t be surprised that the “numerous complaints” added up to less than 10. Some people really need a serious dose of cement powder!