Message content in Canadian automotive advertising: A role for regulation?

The message content of automotive advertising was examined to determine whether automotive advertising is meeting the needs of its stakeholders, and whether there is a need for it to become more highly regulated. A content analysis of 200 Canadian television and print advertisements revealed that 18 percent of ads demonstrate unsafe or aggressive driving, while 25 percent of ads feature safety mentions. Television ads are substantially more likely than print ads to feature unsafe or aggressive driving (27 percent vs. 10 percent, respectively), while TV ads are less likely than print ads to mention safety (21 percent vs. 29 percent, respectively). With nearly $550 million spent annually on Canadian automotive advertising, either industry self-regulation or government-imposed regulation may be needed in order to reduce advertising depictions ofunsafe driving.