BMW warned over misleading headlight advertising

An advertisement for BMW has been taken off the air, after it was found to be misleading in its claim that its high-beam headlight technology did not dazzle oncoming drivers.

The radio commercial was for the BMW 1 Series, and said “oncoming traffic is never dazzled, and you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road,” when describing its ‘High Beam Assist’ technology.

A complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority that the claim was was exaggerating and misleading over the technology’s capabilities, which was upheld.

BMW UK has claimed the technology illuminated the road ahead at full beam, with a sensor in the rear-view mirror attachment to monitor oncoming traffic and adjust the beam as required.

The system reportedly detects oncoming traffic at up to 3,300 feet, and traffic ahead at up to 1,300 feet on a straight roadway.

BMW admitted the possibility of a 600 millisecond to one second delay if an oncoming vehicle was approaching on a curve, though it believed this delay was not long enough for oncoming traffic to be dazzled.

The Advertising Standards Authority said consumers would probably interpret the “oncoming traffic is never dazzled” statement as an absolute certainty.

“We considered that a second of full beam light could potentially dazzle an oncoming driver at short distances, for example on a sharp bend,” the authority said.

“Because of that, we considered that the claim ‘oncoming traffic is never dazzled’ had not been substantiated and was misleading.”

The ASA ruled the advertisement cannot be broadcast again in its current form, and advised BMW to ensure its future advertising does not exaggerate the technology’s capability.