Rental car company Hertz has recently begun a massive ad push in cities where its rent-by-the-hour Hertz Connect service is available. The ads I’ve seen here in New York tout the service as a way for us car-less city folk to do things like go shopping in the ‘burbs or drive to a beach where dead bodies are less likely to wash ashore.

One ad, urging customers to get some “sand in your toes,” features a Hertz vehicle parked on the sand right by the ocean. Aside from that not being the best thing for either the car or the beach, as Consumerist reader Ben points out, it’s also a violation of Hertz’s own rules.

After seeing the above ad, Ben pointed us to the Terms & Conditions page on the Hertz Connect site.

There, under the heading “VII: Prohibited Uses of the Car” is the following:

4.) Engage in any willful or wanton misconduct, which, among other things, may include reckless conduct such as… use off paved roads or on roads that are not regularly maintained.

Hertz even recognizes that their ad isn’t in line with their own policies. It’s hard to read on the photo, but there is a line at the bottom left that says that driving “off paved roads is prohibited.”

Of course, car ads have a long and storied history of showing us behavior that is neither safe nor recommended by anyone without proper stunt driver training.

So just be forewarned if you plan on taking your Hertz car mudding or try to use it as a dune buggy — Just because it’s in the ad doesn’t mean it’s allowed in the fine print.

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