TBWA Worldwide, Inc.
The FTC alleged that TBWA Worldwide produced a Nissan Frontier advertisement showing the truck pushing a dune buggy up a hill it cannot climb. Both vehicles were dragged up by cables and the hill was made to look steeper than it was.
Resolved. Refunded, settled, ceased operating, or the claim did not hold up. Kept for the record.
Identity
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- Registrations
- In the Matter of Nissan North America, Inc. and TBWA Worldwide, Inc. (FTC File No. 122-3010, final orders 2014)
- Jurisdictions
- United States (federal)
A demonstration of something the truck cannot do
The “Hill Climb” advertisement showed a Nissan Frontier pickup rescuing a dune buggy stuck in sand on a steep hill, with onlookers watching in amazement. It ran 30 seconds and was produced in a deliberately realistic “YouTube” style, as though shot on a phone camera.
According to the FTC’s administrative complaints, the truck cannot push a dune buggy up and over that hill. Both the truck and the dune buggy were dragged to the top by cables, and the hill was made to look significantly steeper than it actually was.
Why the agency was charged, not only the advertiser
TBWA Worldwide designed the advertisement, and the FTC named it alongside Nissan. The realistic production style is what made the deception work: an obviously stylized ad makes no claim about literal performance, while one framed as amateur footage of a real event does.
As the FTC’s Bureau Director put it: “Special effects in ads can be entertaining, but advertisers can’t use them to misrepresent what a product can do.”
The orders
Neither company may misrepresent any material quality or feature of a pickup truck through the depiction of a test, experiment or demonstration. The orders expressly do not prohibit special effects or other production techniques, so long as they do not misrepresent a material quality or feature.
What is not established
A consent order is for settlement purposes only and is not an admission that the law was violated. The supplied documents state no monetary relief.
Sources
Every claim above rests on one of these. Open them and check.
- Enforcement action January 23, 2014
- Enforcement action May 9, 2014
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First recorded January 23, 2014 · Last updated May 9, 2014