Hold Your Horses (And Your Heelers): When the Ad Watchdogs Came for the HiLux
Have you seen the new Toyota HiLux "Pied Piper" ad? You know the one with a mob of loyal dogs from across the countryside hears the whistle and starts leaping into the back of a moving ute like it’s a game of musical chairs.
It definitely caught our eye as a classic Aussie gold, a bit of fun, a bit of heart, and a whole lot of dogs doing what they do best.
But apparently, the fun stops where the paperwork begins.
Australia’s Ad Standards watchdog has officially sent the ad to the doghouse. Why? Because the dogs weren't "tethered" in the back of the tray. Despite Toyota pointing out that the ad was clearly a bit of "light-hearted" fantasy and that half the dogs were actually CGI or stuffed props, the panel ruled it was 'dangerous behaviour.'
Has the world gone mad?
It seems we’ve reached a point where even a fictional dog in a fictional ad has to follow the fine print. While anyone who’s spent ten minutes on a farm knows that a working dog is usually exempt from these rules, the watchdog decided that because the ad didn't explicitly show a 'mustering scenario,' it was a no-go.
Wow, this is the sign of the times, isn't it? We’ve gone a bit "PC mad" when a commercial featuring CGI dogs jumping into a ute is treated like a high-risk safety violation. It’s getting harder to have a laugh without someone pulling out a ruler and a compliance handbook.
At the end of the day, we know our community appreciates common sense and a good story. While we’re all for keeping our best mates safe on the road, it’s a shame to see a bit of creative spark get extinguished by the Fun Police.
Apparently Toyota is now heading back to the drawing board to modify the ad. In the meantime, we’ll keep focusing on the real world, where our dogs are loyal, the utes are tough, and we still know how to take a joke.
What do you reckon? Is the watchdog barking up the wrong tree, or have we lost our sense of humor?