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e-bike TV ad banned for creating “climate of anxiety” (but you can watch it here)

Van Moof's ‘melting car’ advert falls foul of French regulator, which also said it discredited the motor industry...

An advert for VanMoof’s latest e-bike, the S3, has been banned in France because regulators said that the 30-second clip, which showed a car melting, with gridlocked highways and packed subway platforms reflected on the bodywork, created a “climate of anxiety” – although the Dutch brand suspects that corporate interests, and the car lobby in particular, may be behind the decision.

VanMoof says that the advert, created as the coronavirus pandemic swept across Europe, “was always meant to raise questions and inspire new thoughts.”

However, France’s advertising watchdog, the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) has now ruled that it cannot be shown there, leading VanMoof to pose the question, “Is a thirty second spot of a melting car really too provocative for French TV?”

In a blog post on its website, VanMoof said: “Let’s take a step back for a second. For those out of the e-biking loop, our ‘Reflections’ film takes a melancholic look at transportation of the past, with gridlocked freeways and jam-packed subways reflected in a car’s bodywork.

“And as the soundtrack sings of a ‘new day dawning’, the glossy surfaces start to warp and distort, melting into a pool of liquid metal.

“No prizes for guessing what appears in the car’s place – the VanMoof S3 flashes into view before the film cuts to black.”

The advert, VanMoof says, is “an eye-catching sequence of visuals, and a powerfully wordless statement about our future.

“By flipping the visual language of a car advert on its head, we point to a world where people are free to choose a different kind of mobility, one which benefits their environment as much as it does themselves.

“Unfortunately, the self-regulated ARPP argue that aspects of the film ‘discredit the automobile sector [...] while creating a climate of anxiety’ and have banned the film from airing on French television.”

VanMoof said it found the decision “perplexing” and at odds with the ARPP’s pledge to promote sustainability, and pointed out that the reflected footage in the spot was available in the public domain.

“If everyday footage of real world transport is going to create a ‘climate of anxiety’, maybe someone should try to do something about that world. Y’know … by offering alternative means of transportation. Or something.”

Highlighting other campaigns blocked by the ARPP, including one from Greenpeace showing melting ice caps, and outdoor ads from Médecins du Monde’s underlining the high cost of essential drugs, VanMoof accused the ARPP of favouring “corporate interests over supporting meaningful societal change.”

The company pointed out that it “comes at a time when the French automobile industry is in real trouble. Car sales are plummeting, and the French government has been forced to introduce an €8 billion recovery plan to keep the sector afloat.”

VanMoof also highlighted that the coronavirus pandemic has seen increased demand for e-bikes and made reference to the €300 million that Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is spending on the most ambitious cycling infrastructure plan of any major world city right now – and one endorsed by the French capital’s citizens, who returned her to the Hotel de Ville for a further six years at the weekend’s elections.

“So it’s easy to see why car manufacturers might be scared of this behavioural shift,” VanMoof continued. “And the giants of the auto industry still have the weight and financial clout to lobby regulatory bodies like the ARPP.

“It might explain why to-date there have been almost no bike commercials broadcast worldwide. But with this market stranglehold starting to loosen, it’s only a matter of time before more voices can be heard. There’s a new day dawning indeed.”

Speaking about the ad earlier this month, VanMoof Creative Director Pascal Duval said: “I hope that it will prompt people to re-examine the status quo.

“COVID-19 has shown that nothing is fixed, and the systems and behaviours we think are permanent can disappear overnight. There’s obviously been a lot of focus on the negative aspects of this experience, and we don’t want to take away from that at all.

“But we can see many things changing for the better.

“Inner city traffic is at the lowest it’s ever been, and pollution is dropping all over the world.

“City planners are finally embracing biking, and dedicated biking infrastructure is being built faster than ever.

“That’s why this film goes beyond just selling the new Vanmoof S3 & X3.

“We want to inspire people to rethink the way they move, and show how that can affect the world they live in.

“It’s really a call to action, a chance to leave the past behind, and make real progress that benefits everyone,” he added.

> “False info” – VanMoof rejects tech website’s claim it hacked one of Dutch firm’s “unstealable” smartbikes

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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18 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
5 likes

The Grauniad quotes the ARPP as saying

“Some images in the reflection of the car are, in our opinion, unbalanced and discredit the entire car sector,” the ARPP said in a letter sent to VanMoof. “The images of factories/chimneys and an accident create a climate of fear. So they will have to be adapted.”

Ridiculous...

Avatar
pockstone replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
2 likes

brooksby wrote:

The Grauniad quotes the ARPP as saying

“Some images in the reflection of the car are, in our opinion, unbalanced and discredit the entire car sector,” the ARPP said in a letter sent to VanMoof. “The images of factories/chimneys and an accident create a climate of fear. So they will have to be adapted.”

Ridiculous...

Everybody knows cars are made of butterflies!

https://www.shootonline.com/video/gtb-uk-2am-films-electric-theatre-coll...

...and are NEVER involved in 'accidents'.

 

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 3 years ago
4 likes

It's a ridiculous reaction to get this inoffensive ad banned.

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robike | 3 years ago
6 likes

If they are lucky it will get a cult "banned" status and get more attention than if it had been allowed to play - what's more they won't have to pay for that attention!

Would it be banned in the UK?

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ktache | 3 years ago
1 like

It shows traffic congestion, you can't show anything but "the open road" in a personal transport ad.

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brooksby replied to ktache | 3 years ago
3 likes

Exactly.  Most car ads show someone driving around an empty city at faster than typical urban speeds, while having texts or FB posts read to you...  Just like real life, then (?).

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griggers | 3 years ago
2 likes

I'm not offended by the look of the Van Moof - why it's just a slight variation on the diamond frame which most people have imprinted on their minds since the UCI (bless 'em) banned anything differnt in the mid-30s. True, it's a bit brutalist but we'll soon get used to it - after all, some might remember the reaction to the fat-tubed Cannondales of the late 80s!

As for the reaction from France. Yes, definite stitch-up by the drowning car lobbyists

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EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
2 likes

OMG their excuse is epic!!!! Do they also work on the side for the British government? 😜

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alchemilla | 3 years ago
1 like

Love this ad.

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hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
2 likes

I love the ad, but not a big fan of the look of the bike.

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captain_slog | 3 years ago
2 likes

I think this is known as the Streisand effect.

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Dao | 3 years ago
0 likes

I quite like the ad xD It appeals to my aesthetics.

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dodpeters | 3 years ago
3 likes

A bit too close to the bone for an advertising industry that makes an awful lot of money out of car manufacturers and their associated industries.

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shufflingb replied to dodpeters | 3 years ago
3 likes

Yep, as of 2017 the largest global advertiser by category - $50.8 bn reasons why they are keen to carry on flogging the Marlboro Man lies of the car makers.

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
9 likes

A climate of anxiety amongst car and oil companies, obviously.  Possibly the most spurious reason for banning an ad ever.  Still, I suspect that the controversy will get at least as much publicity as the original ad.

I initially thought they'd banned it for the use of a song in English.

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
2 likes

Climate of anxiety - that would be excessive speeds of cars in London and constant close passes suffered.

Time to ban NMOTD !

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mdavidford | 3 years ago
4 likes

I think they've misunderstood - the 'climate of anxiety' is created by having to look at that darn ugly bike.

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brooksby replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
1 like

Looks like its made out of scaffolding poles.  High-end, well designed scaffolding poles.

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