Car Ads in France Will Encourage Audience to Walk, Cycle or Take the Bus Instead
New regulations in France will require car ads, starting 1 March, to include a message to discourage the audience from driving. Similar to health warnings on cigarette packets or alcohol labels, car advertisers will have to suggest modes of transport that are “greener” than the cars they are trying to sell.
So, this additional message would go something like “For shorter trips, walk or cycle” or “Use public transport for daily commute” or “Consider carpooling” and be featured prominently in the ad, whether for TV, cinema, print, online or radio. This must be promptly followed by the hashtag #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer (move with less pollution) visually or audibly, such as on the radio.
Failure to comply could lead to a hefty €50,000 fine. On top of that, the ads will also have to include the vehicle’s CO2 emission class, a newly introduced ranking system to educate consumers on the environmental impact of the ride they are considering to buy.
Around the same time as when the law was passed, the country’s Minister for Ecological Transition tweeted that tackling the carbon problem does not require just switching to EVs, but also cycling or using public transport.
Décarboner les transports ce n’est pas seulement passer au moteur électrique. C’est aussi utiliser, quand c’est possible, les transports en commun ou le vélo.
Une évolution encouragée dès mars sur toutes les publicités automobiles. #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluerhttps://t.co/sM9NLejSJb
— Barbara Pompili (@barbarapompili) December 29, 2021
We couldn’t agree more, but the effectiveness of “warning labels” is debatable. Studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of cigarette warnings, for instance, and while results are vague, some have found that graphic warnings are better at discouraging smoking. But don’t let the French government know that or they’ll pass a law to include images of drowning polar bears and the creative agencies will have a hell of a tough time making that look pretty.
