Volvo in the UK has launched the innovative Life Paint, a product aimed at increasing the visibility and safety of cyclists on the road. The unique reflective spray is designed to react to a car’s headlights,making it much easier for drivers to see cyclists in the dark. Which all is very cool sounding but their ad for the product has ran into some problems.
The spot, which won a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, had a complaint filed on it in the UK after a viewer spotted the ad on both YouTube and Volvo’s own website last December.
The video in question demonstrated the reflective properties of Lifepaint on fabric, and featured imagery of bicycle frames that have been sprayed with a different reflective spray from LifePaint’s manufacturer, Albedo 100 – but the watchdog viewer said the use of the two different paint types was not made clear.
The complainant said they didn’t believe that the product could produce the effects shown in the film, and challenged whether the ad was misleading. The UK’s ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) agreed killed the spot since exaggerated the power and use of LifePaint
The brand argued that LifePaint could also be used to produce the same effect shown in the video on bicycle frames, but that this effect would not last for long, but the ASA said the average consumer would expect LifePaint to be able to produce a similar effect to that seen in the ads
