LG rapped for 'dangerous driving' ad

The ASA has ruled against LG over its KF600 ad

LG's recent TV ad campaign for its KF600 mobile phone has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for promoting dangerous driving.

The ad shows a woman stuck in her car in a traffic jam. A close up of the mobile phone shows the woman's finger touching the bottom screen of the handset.

As the ad cuts back to the woman in her car, a touch point appears at the bottom of the ad. The image then rotates to feature the woman in a motor boat.

The ad proceeds to depict several other scene changes while onscreen text and a voiceover states: 'Moodswing? Modeswing!'

Thirty-three viewers contacted the ASA voicing concerns that the ad was likely to encourage dangerous driving as it appeared to show the woman using her mobile phone while driving.

LG argued that the shot of the mobile phone was not intended to appear as though it was being used by the woman in the car.

The company claimed that the woman was "imagining" that the phone could trigger the changing scenes in her day and therefore her mood.

The ASA acknowledged that the ad distinguished between the scene featuring the woman in the traffic jam and the scene showing the phone being used.

However, the watchdog felt that the sequence of images implied that the woman had been using her mobile phone while at the wheel of her car.

The ASA found LG in breach of a health and safety clause, and ruled that the ad must not be shown again in its current form.