France mandates automakers to mention bicycling, walking in their ads: Know why

Automotive ads are a different league of interesting advertisements. They change with time, consumer preferences and explore new ways to attract potential buyers through innovative content. The demand for a reduction in vehicular emission is impacting automotive advertisements but never came with a government mandate to mention bicycling and walking. However, this is exactly what's going to happen in France from March this year.

European Union countries are exploring ways to fight vehicular pollution as it is one of the significant contributors to global warming. France, being a major stakeholder in the EU has mandated the automakers in the country to make ads that will mention alternative transportations such as bicycling and walking.

The French government has recently passed a new law that requires the automakers to advertise alternative modes of transportation in their advertisements to assist in France's effort to reduce pollution and emissions. The country is allowing automakers to pick from three different ad messages that alternatively suggest environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

As France 24 reports, these three messages are - "Consider carpooling", "For day-to-day use, take public transportation", "For short trips, opt for walking or cycling". The newly passed law covers the advertisements for TV, print, radio and internet. This law also comes with its own hashtag that reads - "#SeDeplacerMoinsPolluer", meaning "Move and Pollute Less". This hashtag will reportedly go with all the automotive ads that will be live from March 2022. As per the law, the automakers will also have to include the particular vehicle's emission category. Failure to comply with this law will result in the automakers paying a fine of up to 50,000 euros to the French government.

Automakers such as Volkswagen and Hyundai have already said that they are ready to comply with the new law. german automobile giant VW has said that it will look at how to best comply with the new legislation.

This new law comes as the latest in a series of measures France has taken in the recent past to minimize the damage done by vehicular emission. In 2021, France levied a new tax on SUVs. Also, the country imposed legislation that would prohibit certain cars from city centres. Besides that, France has also enacted a law that would see certain vehicles that pollute a certain amount of carbon dioxide completely banned from 2028.