FTC Says 'No Way' to Nissan Frontier-Pushing Dune Buggy Ad

Settlement should serve as a wake-up call to creative shops

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"Man, no way, are you kidding?"

That line of copy, uttered by a tank-topped dude in a Nissan Frontier ad, pretty much sums up the Federal Trade Commission's take on the ad's over-the-top demonstration showing a Frontier pickup truck pushing a stalled dune buggy up a precipitous slope.

The FTC charged Nissan North America—and in a rare move, Nissan's creative agency, TBWA—with deceptive advertising for deliberately fabricating the truck's capabilities.

TBWA produced the 2011 ad called "Hill Climb" in the style of a YouTube post shot on a bystander's mobile phone.

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