Ford Ranger FX4 complaint dismissed

A complaint lodged against Ford's TV commercial for the Ranger FX4 has been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB).

In the commercial a blue heeler in the vehicle's tray transforms into a wolf as the standard Ranger XLT transforms into the limited-edition FX4 model. The commercial was created using CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery).

In at least one submission received by the ASB, the complainant noted: "It's illegal to carry dogs in the trays at the backs of utes. It's dangerous and cruel. This ad tries to appeal to tradies whose manliness is encouraged to be measured by the degree to which Aussie machismo can be displayed. Dogs in the backs of utes should not be presented as an essential element supporting that machismo."

Asked by the ASB to respond to the complaint, Ford pointed out that the car is never in motion during the commercial's running time. Nor is there any sign of a driver intending to drive the vehicle away. Furthermore, the company argued, there is no specific law against animals occupying the tray of a stationary vehicle.

"Ford takes animal welfare seriously and believes showing a stationary vehicle with a dog in the bed liner of a stationary vehicle does not depict harm to animals. Further, the ‘actor’ dog used during filming was treated with utmost care, attention and respect," the company claimed in its reply.

For its part, the ASB accepted that state and territory rules are only applicable to animals in moving cars, not stationary vehicles. The Board also noted that the dog filmed appeared to be in no distress and there was nothing to indicate the dog was at risk of harm.

As a consequence, the Board arrived at the conclusion that the commercial did not breach clause 2(c) of the FCAI code ("a driving practice that would breach any law") and dismissed the complaint.