Banned Ad Warns "Don't Dew This At Home"

There are some things that shouldn't need a warning, it's obvious how dangerous they are. You don't see teddy bears with warning labels that say "do not attempt to cuddle a real grizzly", but even with plenty of disclaimers, the stunt in this ad has been deemed too dangerous for the UK.

Shot to look like an extreme sports video, this ad for Mountain Dew has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) because it could inspire copycats.

The ad begins with a snowboarder rattling down the escalator into a New York subway station, just as a train is leaving the platform. The adrenaline junkie catches a rope thrown to him from the train and is towed behind the speeding locomotive, jumping onto the tracks.

There's a few seconds of tricks, jumps and triumphant whooping as sparks fly off the rails, but then it all goes wrong. Punching the air in celebration, the rail-riding daredevil faceplants the gravel, the camera gets smashed and the tagline "don't dew this at home."

These wise words seem to have passed by the extreme sports fans who were supposedly watching the clip, whilst sipping a cool Mountain Dew. Perhaps it was their celebratory dogpile that convinced the censors to pull the plug on the clip.

Although the ad, by BBDO, has been circulating the web since 2009, the ASA have only just received complaints about it. Ruling that he ad could inspire youngsters to attempt similar stunts themselves, the ASA have ruled that the ad can not continue to appear in its current form.

There may not be many people running to copy the stunt, but with copies of the clip garnering nearly 12,000 views online, it doesn't look as though the ASA or Mountain Dew will be able to put the brakes on this runaway clip.

Of course, we strongly advise against mucking around on railway lines, but we do recommend that you watch this ad.