Hilux advert banned in UK after complaints

Advocacy groups label ute advert a “total disregard for nature and the climate’’, and Toyota responds.

Apairof adverts in the United Kingdom for the Toyota Hilux – a poster and a television spot – have been taken off the airwaves by the local Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the view that they lack “a sense of responsibility to society”.

As reported by The Guardian, it’s the first time an advert has been banned in Britain on social grounds relating to environmentalism and the preservation of land.

The TV advert, which can still be viewed on YouTube and has been used in the UK since 2020, shows a fleet of Hilux utes off-roading together through tussocks, gravel and a riverbed, before taking to the tarmac.

The advert’s kicker is revealed as one of the utes backs up its driveway and parks, the owner’s reaction implying that the Hilux had been off-roading by itself. The ad ends on the tag line ‘‘born to roam’’.

According to the UK ASA, both adverts “condoned the use of vehicles in a manner that disregarded their impact on nature and the environment They had not been prepared with a sense of responsibility to society’’.

The push to get the commercial off the air was led by two consumer advocacy groups: Adfree Cities and Badvertising. Both groups have called for a ban on all advertising for high-emission vehicles, which they say includes SUVs.

“These adverts epitomise Toyota’s total disregard for nature and the climate, by featuring enormous, highly polluting vehicles driving at speed through rivers and wild grasslands,” said Adfree Cities co-director Veronica Wignall.

“It’s a cynical use of nature to promote something incredibly nature-damaging.

“Advertising for SUVs is pushing up demand for massive gas-guzzling, highly polluting cars in urban environments, just when we want streets that are safer and cleaner and an [accessible] low carbon transport system.”

In a response provided to The Guardian, Toyota UK underlined that it has been a leader in decarbonisation efforts via its hybrid and electric models, and its sharing of technologies with other brands.

“Toyota does not condone behaviour that is harmful to the environment,” it said.

“In fact, over the course of the past three decades, not only has Toyota been one of the leaders in the automotive field in terms of carbon emissions reduction across its vehicle offering, it has shared hundreds of royalty-free licences, allowing others to use its electrification technology.”

The company added that the promotion of off-roading in its advertising was justified as, for some customers, there was a real-world need for the ability to traverse gravel roads like those depicted.

“As part of its wide range of global vehicle offerings, Toyota caters for customers who require a mobility option for reliable use in the harshest of terrains – those people who operate in off-road and remote settings.”

The UK ASA had previously motioned to ban a similar Land Rover Defender advert in 2020 on similar grounds, until its 12-member council reversed the decision – noting that gravel roads like those in the poster were common and “vital” in rural areas.

“We therefore considered that the vehicle depicted in the ad was not being used irresponsibly … and that the ad was not socially irresponsible,” the ASA concluded at the time.

The advert is not used in New Zealand. Whilst the SUVs targeted by advocacy groups are often heavier and more polluting than smaller models, they also represent the largest segment within the pure electric vehicle market. A number of the most popular EVs worldwide are SUVs, including the Tesla Model Y, BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV.

As with New Zealand, there are no fully electric four-wheel drive ute alternatives to the Hilux on sale in the UK.