Ad description
A TV and VOD ad seen in March 2025:
a. The TV ad showed a man driving a car, being followed by a second car. The man sped up, put the hand brake on, swerved to the right-hand side of the road and broke through a metal barrier, leaving the road in a cloud of dust. The man was then shown inside the car falling down a rocky hill. The second car stopped at the point where the first car left the road, with the broken barrier and dust still visible. The first car was then shown upside down but placed on top of an identical car at the bottom of the hill. The same man was in both cars, one upside down, the second upright. The man in the car below looked up through the sunroof at the man above. As the first man grasped the gear stick, a second hand was shown from above placing it on his hand. The car was then put in gear and drove off with the second car attached above it. Both cars, attached, drove along a road with on-screen text that said, “TWO IS MORE THAN ONE TWIX”.
b. The VOD ad included the same content as ad (a).
Issue
Five complainants believed that ads (a) and (b) encouraged dangerous driving and were irresponsible.
Response
Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK Ltd (Mars Wrigley) said the ad had a cinematic presentation and was set in a separate world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality.
They explained the ad was split into two parts. The first part had a good versus bad theme, reminiscent of classic films. The cars were shot driving at lawful speeds and any emulation would only reflect the legal and safe driving presented. They said they had removed identifiers of the real world from the road scenes, including vehicles, pedestrians, or road signage, to distance the setting from reality. The second part of the ad, a dual car performing a stunt that defied physics, depicted a scenario that was clearly exaggerated and not possible in reality. The surreal moment highlighted that the scene was clearly fictional and tongue in cheek. That was further emphasised by scenes of two hands operating a gear shift, a hand break turn that was not possible in real life and the man shown calmly driving off a cliff. They made sure the action was clearly in a fantasy world and would be impossible to recreate.
They said Twix was further known for its playful and absurd tone and the humour in the ad reflected that and aligned with the slogan ‘Two is More Than One’. That slogan also featured at the end of the ad and reinforced the irreverent humour of the ad. The slogan when taken literally was inherently comical and aligned with the fantastical tone of the rest of the ad.
Clearcast stated that the ad’s fantastical and cinematic presentation made it clear the driving was exaggerated and not intended to be emulated. It therefore did not encourage people to breach the Highway Code or suggest safe driving was boring. It used imaginative storytelling, using absurd elements and a Hollywood style, to project the message that "Two is More Than One" and did so in a way that was unlikely to be understood as showing reasonable driving practices.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP and BCAP Codes stated that ads must not condone or encourage irresponsible driving or a breach of the legal requirements of the Highway Code.
The man driving the first car was shown smiling as his car fell down a hill, only for it to be seen again with an identical car on top of it. A second man was in that car and reached through the sunroof to place his hand on the first man’s hand. Both cars were shown driving off, one on top of the other. The ASA therefore acknowledged that the ad contained some clearly fantastical elements in the latter part of the ad and had a cinematic feel overall.
However, at the start of the ad the driver was shown on an ordinary road, when a car approached behind him. We considered the road was clearly realistic, albeit in an isolated and exotic location, with lane dividers visible and both cars ensuring they stayed on one side of the road, replicating real life. The second car then appeared to be approaching the initial car rapidly and the engine sound was audible. On noticing the car, the first man was shown immediately putting his car in gear, with a determined expression on his face, and appeared to be speeding up to evade the car. The feeling of speed was emphasised by the fast paced beat and music. Therefore, the scenes were depicted as a chase with the emphasis on speed. In addition, the first man was then shown putting the handbrake on and the car swerved off the road leaving visible skid marks.
We considered the emphasis on a chase, and the speed inherent to that, and the driving manoeuvres featured would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life on a public highway. Because we considered the driving depicted in the ads condoned unsafe driving, that appeared likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code, we concluded the ads were irresponsible.
Ad (a) breached BCAP Code rules 20.1 and 20.2 (Motoring) and ad (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 19.2 and 19.3 (Motoring).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK Ltd not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads.
