A high-octane ad campaign for Twix has been banned for promoting irresponsible driving, following a ruling by the UK’s advertising watchdog published on 11 June.
The TV and video-on-demand ads by Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK featured a dramatic car chase ending in a surreal stunt involving two identical vehicles stacked on top of each other. On-screen text concluded the sequence with the brand’s strapline: “TWO IS MORE THAN ONE TWIX”.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received five complaints from viewers who felt the ads encouraged dangerous driving. After investigation, the regulator upheld the complaints, concluding the scenes “condoned unsafe driving” and could be interpreted as a breach of the Highway Code.
The ads began with a car chase along a realistic-looking road, with one driver appearing to accelerate to evade a rapidly approaching vehicle. The manoeuvre culminated in a handbrake turn and the car crashing through a barrier before falling down a hillside. While the latter part of the ad shifted into a stylised, fantastical scene – including the now-famous image of one car driving with an identical car balanced on top – the ASA said the early sequences were “depicted as a chase with the emphasis on speed” and featured actions “that would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life”.
“We considered the emphasis on a chase, and the speed inherent to that, and the driving manoeuvres featured would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life on a public highway,” the ruling stated.
Mars Wrigley defended the ad as a cinematic fantasy with “tongue-in-cheek” elements that would not be interpreted as real. The company said the setting was deliberately removed from reality and that the brand’s signature humour was aligned with the “absurd” concept. Clearcast, which approved the TV ad, also argued the stylised execution made clear it was not representative of real driving.
Despite these assurances, the ASA ruled that the portrayal of a car chase and stunt driving on a seemingly real road breached advertising codes covering motoring. It said the ad was likely to encourage behaviour that contravenes legal driving standards.
Mars Wrigley has been instructed not to show the ads again in their current form and to avoid promoting driving that appears unsafe or unlawful.
