Jägermeister ad ‘linked drinking with being tough’, ASA claims
The ad showed a group of men driving through snowy mountains, surfing and later enjoying a shot of Jägermeister in a log cabin. The voice-over, as they drank, said: "Jägermeister. It runs deep".
The Youth Alcohol Advertising Council challenged whether the ad was irresponsible, because it linked alcohol with tough, daring behaviour; encouraged irresponsible and immoderate drinking; and implied that alcohol was key to the social success of the occasion.
The ASA rejected the last two claims but said: “Because the ad featured both alcohol, and physically demanding and challenging activities, we considered that it made a clear association between an alcoholic product and tough and daring behaviour. We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”
The group ordered that the ad must not be broadcast in its current form again.
A spokeswoman for producers Mast-Jaegermeister UK said: “Mast-Jaegermeister UK is committed to responsible marketing and strives hard to abide by all relevant codes, rules and regulations, which apply to the industry, in what is arguably the strictest market in the world. The company also abides by all the processes required by the relevant authorities, which in this instance included the advert being approved pre and post production by Clearcast. Mast-Jaegermeister UK welcomes the fact that two complaints were not upheld but accepts all the decisions of the ASA Council.”
Irresponsible
The ASA also upheld a complaint about a Facebook promotion for a South Shields bar. The posting on the TrocStars Facebook page featured an image of two women both drinking from large glasses with the text "Got yourself drunk at Trocs? Woke up in someone else's bed? Walk of shame? F*ck that it's the stride of pride!". Text next to the poster stated "It's time for the THURSDAY HIJACK!! Like and Share this poster for a chance to win A FREE THURSDAY NIGHT OUT in Trocaderos!".
Balance, North East Alcohol Office, and one other complainant challenged whether the ad was in breach of the advertising code, because it was offensive, irresponsible and linked alcohol to sexual activity.
The bar is a Camerons Brewery tenancy but the company insisted it is run entirely independently and that the campaign was entirely down to the tenants.
The tenants apologised for their “naivety” but said the ad was only released to a limited community.
The ASA said: “Although the phrase "F*ck that ..." contained an asterisk, we considered that did not obscure the intended meaning and it was still clear that it represented a swear word which would be generally regarded as highly offensive and was unlikely to be acceptable in marketing communications. We considered the language used was gratuitous and that the term "F*ck that ..." was likely to cause serious offence.
Suggestive
“We considered that the text "Got yourself drunk at Trocs? Woke up in someone else's bed?", particularly in combination with the image of two women drinking large alcoholic drinks, clearly and irresponsibly linked the excessive consumption of alcohol with sexual activity. We further considered that the term "Walk of shame?!" would be recognised by many consumers as a phrase which referred to returning home after having engaged in sexual activity the previous day and was therefore sexually suggestive and also linked alcohol with sexual activity.
“Because the ad used offensive language, encouraged excessive drinking and linked alcohol with sexual activity, we concluded that it was irresponsible and in breach of the advertising code.”
The ASA ruled the ad must not appear again in its current form.
