April 12, 2021 by Clare Burnett. From Brews News
A series of beer marketing communication have faced an ABAC panel after alcohol advertising watchdog’s quarterly report on complaints.
In fact, complaints remain high in the first quarter of 2021 after a record of complaints in 2020 with 24 determinations, 11 of which were upheld, 12 dismissed and 1 signed as ‘no-fault’ breach, ABAC latest report says. Breaches pertain mostly to social media posts, with two relating to packaging, two associated with placement, and one with branded giveaway.
ABAC continues: “The most common breaches of Code standards this quarter related to depictions of alcohol use in conjunction with swimming pools and suggestions that alcohol has some sort of therapeutic benefit.”
ABAC also discusses how marketers cooperated when facing “controls” on their behalf, and how free online certified courses to the industry have been introduced to avoid Code breaches.
Some who received complaints were Great Northern for an outdoor billboard advertisement for showing consumption of alcohol before or during any activity that requires a high degree of alertness or physical coordination, using “beer for up here” as a slogan in a hiking setting. Capital Brewing Co.’s Trail Pale Ale also faced a complaint for the same reason because their ad featured the beer in the hand of a semi-submerged person.
Brewboys Brewery faced a complaint in regard to an Instagram, which was then removed, post that shows a man challenged to “straight arm” – drinking an entire beer with a straight arm. The complaint argues that this kind of post promotes excessive or rapid consumption of beer.
Nosh received an expedited complaint after showing the product superimposed onto a scene of the 2004 film Mean Girl; here, the ABAC ruled that showing a supposed 16-year-old girl with alcohol in the Instagram post breaches the rule of appealing to minors and depicting minors drinking alcohol.
Heineken and James Squire received complaints for advert placement during on-demand TV programming for showing their brands during “business hours”. In fact, the ads were shown during programs in the Kids category on 10play, which is inappropriate and breaches the rule of not directing alcohol marketing towards minors.
Sierra Nevada further received a complaint for showing a commercial where after opening a box of Sierra Nevada, people jump into a lake where there are others swimming. This type of ad promotes risk-taking behavior given that drinking alcohol whilst swimming “is shown to increase the risk of drawing” and for showing the jumping off a small cliff. Likewise, Beach Beer Bondi was criticized for showing alcohol consumption during swimming in an Instagram post featuring a woman in a pool, floating in an inflatable with a beer in hand.
Link to the full article: https://www.brewsnews.com.au/2021/04/12/tv-ads-billboard-and-social-media-in-front-of-abac/.