Italy follows in the footsteps of France: car advertising will have to promote sustainable mobility

Advertising the car market will no longer be so simple: every advertising message that aims to promote cars, in fact, will have to contain explicit references to reduce their use and promote sustainable means.

In Italy it is just a proposal, but in France it is already a reality: the car is considered the same as smoking.

Just as there are specific and clear warnings on cigarette packets, every type of communication from car manufacturers, regardless of the media used, must convey certain messages.

“For shorter journeys, walk or cycle”, “Consider carpooling”, or even “Use public transport every day” are just some of the messages conveyed in the adverts.

The idea of following in the French footsteps comes from Rossella Muroni, MP and exponent of the "FacciamoEco" group, who in a new bill recently presented to the Chamber asks for messages to be introduced to promote sustainable mobility.

If this bill, presented last December 17, 2022 in the Chamber, were approved, it would introduce the obligation for all internal combustion car commercials to promote sustainable mobility as an alternative to one's own car and the fight against climate change.

In addition to these messages, the advertising will have to contain the hashtag #MovingPollutionLess and the obligations, as in the French case, would extend to all media, from online to offline.

In the event of failure to comply with these obligations, the advertiser would incur a fine of 50 thousand euros for each television or radio broadcast or each paper and web publication.

Rossella Muroni, first signatory of the law, reported that: “Mobility is one of the most important fronts in the challenge of sustainability and Europe is finally addressing the issue of stopping the sale of polluting internal combustion cars. A phase out at different speeds, ranging from 2025 for Norway to 2030 for the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Slovenia and Iceland, up to the comfortable 2035 defined by our Interministerial Committee for the Ecological Transition. To push Italy in the right direction and immediately promote sustainable lifestyles, I have filed a bill which, from this year, introduces the obligation to contain a message on the fight in all forms of advertising for internal combustion cars. to climate change and sustainable mobility as a valid alternative to car ownership. The commercials must also contain clear information on the level of CO2 emissions of the vehicles advertised and in case of non-compliance, financial penalties will be foreseen. A proposal is inspired by the new French regulations in force in March and by what is already happening in Italy for products with proven harmful effects on health such as cigarettes".

This would represent a true communication revolution which, in addition to significantly impacting the automotive sector, would also fill a lack of communication from the Ministry in favor of greener and more sustainable mobility.