Mercedes-Benz E-Class Ad Pulled Out in the U.S.

Giancarlo Perlas August 28, 2016

A few months ago, Mercedes-Benz released a series of videos hyping the revolutionary tech features of the 2017 E-Class. One of the advertisements was pulled out in the United States though after complaints from local consumer groups.

According to Reuters, consumer groups alleged that the ad for the Mercedes-Benz “The Future” campaign was misleading. The commercial shows the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Mercedes-Benz F015 Luxury in Motion concept car driving side-by-side.

As a recap, the advertisement first displays the F015 while it is in auto-pilot. Then it asks, “Is the world truly ready for a vehicle that could drive itself?” Next, it says, “Ready or not, the future is here.” After that, it introduces the new E-Class. It should be noted that clip also highlights the driver letting go of the E-Class car’s steering wheel to let it drive automatically.

Due to the complaint, Mercedes-Benz voluntarily removed the ad. The company yielded to the claim of the consumer groups stating that buyers might confuse the autonomous driving feature of the F015 with the driver assistance systems available in the E-Class.

Mercedes cleared out that the E-Class is merely a host of the technology which will pave way to autonomous driving. The company reminded that the E-Class only possesses the technology to assist drivers. Thus, customers should still keep in mind their responsibilities as drivers. Furthermore, Mercedes said the E-Class is not an autonomous vehicle and it is not positioned as such.