JD Sports poster advertising Adidas apparel banned because it “encouraged irresponsible driving

A complaint was raised in respect of a poster displayed on the London Underground by JD Sports, which showed two scenes involving a car.

In one of the images, a driver and passenger (both dressed in Adidas apparel) sat in the front of the car, seemingly driving the vehicle. In the second image, the car was parked at a street party and a model sat in the rear passenger window.

The complainant believed that the advertisement promoted irresponsible driving. Following an investigation, the ASA upheld the complaint, concluding that the car appeared to be in motion in the first image and neither individual was wearing a seatbelt.

It was irrelevant that the poster advertised clothing and was not, for example, a car advertisement.