BANNED: Strongbow ad that suggested alcohol 'as important as relationships'

The ad, which featured on the beer’s Youtube channel, showed a spoof awards ceremony where a drinker named Carl won the award ‘best Strongbow as my other half.’ When accepting the award, Carl said: “I dedicate this award to my family, to all the lovely creatures out there and to my other half. I love you. I’ve loved you since the first day I met ya. And I always will do. My dear Strongbow.”

It sparked concerns from the Youth Advertising Council, who argued the ad portrayed alcohol as indispensable and taking priority in life.

Although Heineken argued that the ad was satirical and poked fun at traditional awards ceremonies, the ASA decided to uphold the complaint.

The ASA said: “We noted the ad was intended to be humourous and was in the style of a parody of awards ceremonies. We noted Stongbow was referred to throughout the ad as Carl’s other half and considered that implied Strongbow was important to Carl as significant relationship with another person. We also noted the ad referred to Carl being in love with Strongbow and considered that indicated Carl’s relationship with Strongbow was as important as a significant romantic relationship.”

"We considered the ad implied alcohol was as important, if not more important that personal relationships and therefore was portrayed as being indispensable and taking priority in life.”

Heineken said: “This short film, made in 2011, was a clear parody of glossy awards acceptance speeches and the often perceived fake sincerity that they exhibit. We still believe it highly unlikely that viewers would seriously think that it portrayed Strongbow as an essential to life. We have not had any other complaints about this film in the four years that it sat on our YouTube archive, but it has now been deleted."  

The ASA is also currently investigating an advert from Premier Estate Wine which asked consumers to ‘Taste the Bush’ after complaints it was offensive.