The national press advert featured a picture of a glass of Kronenbourg 1664 alongside the headline “From the country that believes in the lunch (two and a half) hour”.
The text underneath stated: “The French are famous for many things, hurrying isn’t one of them. So naturally a beer from Strasbourg, Eastern France is made rather slowly. From a patient approach to hop growing, to the delicate handling of the drying procedure, not one part of the brewing process is rushed. Make sure the drinking process is the same”.
Heineken UK defended itself claiming the aim of the ad was to highlight the heritage of Kronenbourg 1664, which originated in Strasbourg. Heineken said it believed consumers would distinguish between the provenance of a brand of beer and did not believe that lager drinkers in the UK would be misled by the ad.
However, the ASA said that as the beer is not brewed in France the advert was “misleading”. The ASA ruled the advert must not appear again in its current form.