ASA Adjudication on Welsh Whisky Company Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for Brecon Five Vodka, showed a quiz show in a format similar to University Challenge with a quiz master and two teams: one was from the "BOFFINS INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED PHILOSOPHY" and the other consisted of four young women from the "VALLEY COLLEGE OF FURTHER EDUCATION". The quiz master asked "Soren Kierkegaard was an early advocate of which philosophical concept?" and a woman, named "JONES" from the "VALLEY COLLEGE" answered "Existentialism, innit!". The voice-over then said "Now that's not what you'd expect from Wales" and a bottle of the Vodka was shown against a background of running water. The voice-over continued "and neither is the award-winning Brecon Five Vodka, five column distilled for smoothness from our very own Penderyn Distillery".

Issue

Twenty-one viewers objected that the ad was offensive because they believed it presented a negative stereotype of Welsh people as being of low intelligence.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Newhaven Communications (Newhaven) responded on behalf of the Welsh Whisky Company.  They said the campaign was a light-hearted and irreverent approach to "Not what you would expect from Wales", because the Penderyn Distillery was the only one in Wales and the production of spirits was normally not associated with the Welsh.  They explained that the ad was one of a campaign of three that were being aired in Wales only and included a male voice choir singing a Cheeky Girls' hit and the Millennium Stadium being renamed the Will Carling Stadium.  They said they had not intended to insult the viewers and believed it was clear that the Welsh girls were the heroes of the situation by beating the philosophy boffins at their own game.  They said the surprise was that anyone could beat the philosophy boffins at a philosophy question, not that the girl could answer the question.  They believed the ad did not imply that Welsh people were of low intelligence.  

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) said they had worked very closely with Newhaven to ensure that the approved ad contained acceptable humour that would prevent widespread or serious offence.  They explained that the ad had been designed to show that the Welsh team were up against philosophy boffins, identified as such in the ad, and so it was clear that anyone, not just the Welsh team, would be unlikely to answer the question correctly before the boffins did, which was the basis of the surprise.  They pointed out that the ad had been designed with the self-depreciating humour of the Welsh in mind, because it was for a primarily Welsh audience and had been made for a Welsh company and product.  They said they believed the ad was self-mocking, light-hearted and cheeky and that it did not breach the Code.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA acknowledged that some viewers believed the ad was particularly insulting to Welsh women, because the team was entirely female, and some believed it was patronising because the surprise was based upon finding a knowledgeable Welsh person.  We nevertheless noted the ad was intended to be light-hearted and played on the idea of how stereotypical "boffins" and young women from "the Valley" presented themselves.  We considered that the ad showed the Welsh team getting the better of the philosophy boffins, which was unexpected regardless of the competing team, and therefore the Welsh team could be perceived in a positive light.  We acknowledged that some viewers had felt insulted by the ad, but we nevertheless considered that most people would view the ad as a humorous play on the vodkas origin in Wales and not as insulting to Welsh people, or women.  We considered that the mild stereotype was not harmful and concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.1 and 6.6 (Harm and offence), but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)