ITC overrules BACC again over Volvo ad

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has overruled a decision by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) for the second time in two months.

The ITC has forced the BACC, the body which vets ads before they are screened, to withdraw a Volvo ad after 15 viewers complained about its portrayal of speed and use of children.

The BACC was last month forced to withdraw an ad for the soft drink Tango after viewers complained it encouraged bullying and was offensive.

The Volvo ad, which was created by Forsman & Bodenfors in Sweden, portrays a young boy who draws pictures of various blurred objects, including a tree and a cow. In the final scene, the boy is seen climbing into a Volvo S40.

It is understood the BACC originally rejected the ad two years ago.

Some of the complainants believed it was offensive to use a child to promote cars in this way, because of the number of child injuries and fatalities caused by speeding drivers.

The ad was cleared by the BACC, which argued that it portrayed movement rather than excess speed.

The BACC also argued that the ad hinged on an exciting and different “moving” view of the world, as seen by the boy as he travelled home by car.