JD Sports has had a campaign of Nike ads banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for condoning ‘irresponsible, unsafe’ driving, despite the ads showing riders wearing protective gear.
More than 60 complaints were made against the North West-based sports retailer, including from the British Motorcyclists Federation, for a series of ads, posts and reels which ran across its Facebook channel.
The ads in question promoted JD Sports’ range of Nike Air Max clothing, and showed a variety of images featuring motorcycle and quad bike riders wearing trainers and clothes from the range. Some photos showed them performing stunts such as wheelies and drifting.
Some of the complaints said the ads featured illegal and irresponsible road use, while others said the ads were ‘irresponsible’ for showing riders wearing trainers and athletic wear instead of protective equipment.
JD Sports countered that the motorbikes were incidental, rather than central, to the ads. It also said the photos for the campaign were either taken within a private warehouse or on a closed road.
JD also said it did not believe the ads showed activities which broke the Highway Code, and that the focus was on the clothing and footwear rather than the motorbikes.
It added that consumers would recognise the shots were staged and would not be encouraged to copy the tricks. One of the ads included text warning consumers that the stunts were being performed by professionals and should not be tried at home.
The ASA upheld initial complaints and banned the JD Sports adverts in their current form, as the CAP Code states that ads must not condone or encourage dangerous driving. The ASA said the stunts shown in the ads would be “unsafe and irresponsible” if undertaken on public roads, where they appeared to take place.
The disclaimer text was held to be insufficient to guard against this.
In response to the second set of complaints, JD Sports said that as there was no legal obligation for motorcyclists to wear any protective equipment other than a helmet, the clothing worn by the riders in the ads did not breach any rule or recommendation in the Highway Code.
The ASA found that while the use of specialised motorcycle gear is widely recommended, it is not legally required. As such, the ads were not considered irresponsible on this point.
