New Mini ad is in the dog house

[caption id=”attachment_161″ align=”aligncentre” width=”300″ caption=”New illegal Mini advert”][/caption]

We love the BMW Mini. They are zippy, small, safe and sporty. They also emit relatively low amounts of CO2 (usually VED band B or C). Mini’s campaign for its new convertible Cabriolet model features a series of outdoor ads with the strapline ‘Stay open’.

Unfortunately, BMW’s new advertising push is illegal because the ads fail to comply with new VCA advertising codes, which were agreed by the agencies and the DfT earlier this year in response to our legal challenge. From this month, all outdoor adverts must display the CO2 and fuel economy information in a font large enough to be easily read from across the road.

The new billboard ads are part of Mini’s first global ad campaign, created in tandem by German marketing agency Plantage Berlin and WCRS.

We Are Futureproof documented several cases where the ads were unlawful, and sent a complaint to the VCA. If the VCA rules against the BMW-owned marque, it will be reported to the DfT, and BMW may have to amend or retract the ad campaign.

Blake, for We Are Futureproof

New yougov poll shows colour-coded scale needed on car advertising

We are Futureproof is pushing for the introduction of colour-coded labels on car advertisements, similar to those used in showrooms and the energy efficiency labels on white goods.

The group commissioned a poll from YouGov to see which format consumers found easier to understand. YouGov surveyed more than 2,000 people who were presented with an advert carrying CO₂ and fuel economy data in the current format.

Just 3 in 10 people can understand vital information about fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions in the format currently shown on car adverts (31%)

It’s clear people don’t understand what the raw CO₂ and fuel economy numbers on car adverts mean, or how different cars compare in terms of ‘grams per kilometre’, so it’s not enough just stating these figures in billboards and magazine adverts.

Instead, the public needs to know how a car compares with others in terms of fuel efficiency and pollution, and our survey shows that a colour-coded scale is much easier to understand.

[caption id=”attachment_139″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″ caption=”Current style car ad”][/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_145″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″ caption=”Car ad with new colour-coded label”][/caption]

The results show that more than half of people correctly identified the efficiency of a fictional new car called ‘Marko’ when the information was shown in a colour-coded chart, compared with less than one third when the information was presented in plain writing (56 per cent vs 31 per cent).

The number of people answering ‘don’t know’ reduced by nearly half for the new label – down from 41 per cent for the plain writing format to just 22 per cent for the colour-coded chart.

Four times as many people say they the find colour-coded format easier to understand (67% vs 16%)

When asked which format they preferred, two thirds of people (67 per cent) chose the colour-coded format, four times as many as chose the larger, but less clearly presented plain writing (16 per cent).

It’s clear to us that people don’t understand what the raw CO₂ and fuel economy numbers on car adverts mean, or how different cars compare in terms of ‘grams per kilometre’, so it’s not enough just stating these figures in billboards and magazine adverts. Instead, we think the public needs to know how a car compares with others in terms of fuel efficiency and pollution, and our survey shows that a colour-coded scale is much easier to understand.

WRFP also believes that the car industry - not just consumers and the environment - would benefit from the introduction of clearer information on fuel economy.

Recent figures from the car industry show that in the first two months of 2009, new car sales were down by more than 20 per cent on 2008 across the industry as a whole, but that car buyers are keen to seek out more economical models. Sales within the ‘mini’ class of smaller cars are 40 per cent up, in contrast to the rest of the market, but people need more to go on than just the size of the car.

It’s not simply a case of small cars being good and big cars being bad.  If the format of the efficiency information changed, it would make it much easier for consumers to see that within every class of car, such as family estates, vehicles can have very different running costs.

Recession-hit consumers need to see clearer information on fuel economy when choosing a car

Other evidence shows that car drivers are keen to reduce their driving costs but confused about the information given. People increasingly cite fuel economy and running costs as an important consideration when choosing a new car. But, in the absence of clear information that is easy to understand, many drivers mistakenly assume that vehicle size is the only major factor determining fuel consumption and don’t understand how the metrics ‘mpg’ and ‘grams per kilometre’ relate to running costs.

Blake, for We Are Futureproof

Compromise deal in the EU limits innovation of cars

A compromise deal, coming after a year of intense fighting and disagreement between green groups, ministers, EU commissioners and those representing the auto industry lobby, has been made between ministers of the 27 EU member states. The agreement will be solidified in a parliamentary vote later this month.

You can listen in as UK MEPs discuss the agreement along with German ministers

Fivers for drivers

Today, in their first public appearance, members of We Are Futureproof handed out free money to car drivers at a central London petrol station.

Activists wearing Geoff Hoon masks, holding a briefcase full of (fake) money, and waving wads of fivers enticed car drivers into the petrol station, where they explained how the forthcoming legislation could radically lower the emissions from their cars and the cost of their fuel bills.  Once the drivers signed one of our specially mocked-up ‘fiver’ postcards, we handed over a crisp new five pound note.  The ‘fiver’ postcards, featuring Geoff Hoon wearing a tiara, will be sent to the Transport Secretary to encourage him to support tough standards for new cars.

London’s black cabs may go electric

According to our friends at ETA, the iconic London black cab may soon go electric.

Chinese car maker Geely, which owns a large stake of taxi-manufacturer LTI vehicles, is currently developing its own plug-in hybrid and electric cars and is examining the feasibility of converting the diesel-engined cabs to run on battery power.

Apparently, a London TX4 taxi emits a whopping 226g CO2 per km, which is more than twice the amount produced by today’s most efficient diesel cars. As there are 20,000 black cabs in London, that makes a strong case for converting to electric power.