So – two fascinating aspects of an Advertising Standards Authority ruling from earlier this year.

The first thing is that this is a case picked up by the ASA’s own proactive monitoring activities – powered by AI.

The Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on ‘zero-emissions’ claims. The ad was identified by the ASA’s Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules!

So if anyone thinks a claim is worth the risk because it’s unlikely to get a complaint from the public… watch out! Listen to the words of the ASA – “Active Ad Monitoring”. This is a whole different ballgame.

Secondly, however, this challenge was NOT upheld.

Yes, I said NOT upheld.

The claim concerned the statement, “Find out more & discover the range of features. Zero-emissions driving. Fast charging. Driver Assistance Tech.”

This was smart (and compliant) wording.

As the ASA says, “The claim “Zero-emissions driving” was immediately followed by references to “Fast charging” and “Driver Assistance Tech”. This further text placed the claim in the context of some of the specific features of the car, which included its emissions while being driven, its charging capability and technical function. The claim was unlikely, therefore, in that specific context to be understood as a comment on the vehicle’s overall life-cycle (manufacture, use and disposal) emissions. We concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.”

So you can make eco-claims.

You just have to make them careful and truthful.