ASA slaps immediate ban on 'I don't want to die sober' club night ad
The Advertising Standards Agency said it had taken the “unusual step” of acting without an investigation in respect of the Koosday promotion.
The company created the ad for three Newcastle bars, although the ASA said the venues were not consulted on the content. The ads appeared on car bonnets across the city.
A statement from the ASA said: “In light of the concerns that have been raised, as well as our own, we have taken the unusual step of having the ad withdrawn immediately. In exceptional circumstances ASA procedures under the Advertising Code allow us to take interim action and have ads amended or withdrawn pending investigation.
“Alongside the complaint, we’re also challenging whether the ad encouraged excessive drinking and was therefore irresponsible, particularly because it had been placed on cars belonging to university students and was likely to be seen by other students when parked on campus.”
Koosday has been ordered to stop al further publication and remove the ads currently in circulation. The ASA contacted Unicarads.co.uk, the company responsible for providing the ad space, to tell them not to republish the material.
