ASA Adjudication on Brown-Forman Beverages Europe Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for Southern Comfort, showed a group of friends greeting one another at a bar. One of them said "Southern Comfort for everyone?". The bartender repeated "SoCo for everyone?" and poured the drinks. There were several kaleidoscope-style images of the drink interspersed with shots of the friends socialising. The group was then shown raising glasses in a toast. On-screen text then stated "Drink responsibly southerncomfort.com".

Issue

A viewer, who saw the ad during a football match, objected that the people in the ad looked younger than 25 years old and that the ad glamorised alcohol and was therefore likely to encourage younger viewers to drink.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Brown-Forman Beverages Europe (Brown-Forman) said all of the eight actors in the ad were over 25 years old at the time of filming.  They sent photo id that confirmed their dates of birth, and pointed out that the actors ranged in age from 25 to 35, with four being 25 or 26 and four being 27 or over.  They believed all eight also looked over 25 years old.  They considered that the kaleidoscopic effects were stylised and not of particular appeal to any age group.  They claimed that none of the themes, scenarios or actions in the ad were associated with youth culture, and pointed out that the ad had attracted no other complaints, although it had aired previously in 2007 and 2008.  They added that the programme during which the ad aired received an audience of 1,496,000 people of which 1,350,838 (90.3%) were over 18.

Clearcast said they had been satisfied when they had approved the ad that the people featured looked at least 25 years old.  They confirmed that the ad had been given an alcohol scheduling restriction that stated it was not to be transmitted in or adjacent to programmes likely to appeal to audiences below the age of 18.  They disagreed that the ad glamorised alcohol, and said it employed what they considered to be a very adult-orientated animation style which, although colourful, was a mature use of graphics and overlaid pictures.   They believed it was neither cartoon-like nor "cute", and it did not use any animated characters or other devices likely to be of appeal to children or youth.   They believed the ad depicted a moderate scene of enjoyment in which there was no loud, high-intensity or antisocial behaviour, and the music was not, in their view, of a style that had particular appeal to youth.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the proof of age provided by Brown-Forman.  We considered that, although some of the group appeared to be in their twenties, none of the actors looked under 25 years of age.  In particular, we considered that the main protagonist, the man who placed the order, appeared significantly older than 25. We considered that their smart-casual dress and 'groomed' style denoted an older, established group of friends that would be unlikely to be seen as reflecting youth culture.  We also noted the ad showed the group socialising while waiting for the bartender to serve their drinks, and that no one was depicted drinking until each had a glass in hand for the toast.  We considered that the overall impression was one of moderate consumption.  We noted images of cocktail shakers, bottles and glasses were repeated across the screen, but we considered the repetition would be seen as a result of the kaleidoscopic effects seen throughout the ad rather than an allusion to large quantities of alcohol.  We agreed that the animation style was abstracted and stylised and would be unlikely to be seen as particularly attractive by young viewers.  We concluded that the ad did not glamorise alcohol and was not of particular appeal to those under 18.  

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 11.8.2(a) (Alcoholic drinks) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)