Got a lot of bottle

 

Picture the scene: a father was enjoying a day out in town with his young daughter when he suddenly noticed that she was looking intently at a poster for an alcoholic drink, Archers Aqua. When he followed her gaze he was taken aback. Though he had an open mind about alcohol and didn’t object to it being advertised, he found the imagery used in this particular promotion had crossed the boundaries of taste and decency.

The poster that upset him featured a man lying on his side in a woodland setting with his shirt undone. He was also in his underpants and was holding an axe, a bouquet of flowers and had a stethoscope around his neck. Prominently displayed and placed in front of his groin was a bottle of Archers Aqua alongside which ran the strap line “Something for the ladies”.

The father found the image offensive and believed the advertisement was crude and sexually suggestive. He was not alone, three other members of the public felt similarly and all contacted the Advertising Standards Authority which resulted in a formal investigation being launched.

Two other posters in the same style, featuring semi-clad men with bottles of Archers Aqua in front of their groins and using the same strap line, also became subject of the complaints. Furthermore, when the ASA received the complaints it challenged whether the poster implied that the advertised drink could enhance sexual capabilities – something that is clearly prohibited by the advertising Code.

In response to the complaints from the public, the advertiser argued that they had taken every precaution to avoid causing offence. Although they apologised if the posters had upset people they did not believe the images were crude or sexually suggestive; rather the intention was to be humorous and tongue-in-cheek about male stereotypes. The advertiser also pointed to their consumer research, undertaken prior to launching the campaign, in which both men and women who had seen the posters said they found them humorous. After investigating the complaints the ASA considered that, although they contained sexual innuendo, the posters were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

The advertiser, however, still had to address the ASA’s concern that the posters implied Archers Aqua could enhance sexual capabilities. Though they argued that this was not the case, that none of the models featured were drinking and that they represented a stereotype of female fantasies, the ASA disagreed.

Taking into consideration the fact that the bottles were positioned in a sexually suggestive manner and ran alongside the strap line, the ASA concluded that the posters linked sex with alcohol. The advertisement was therefore in breach of the Code and the ASA told the advertisers not to use the posters again. It also advised them to consult the Committee of Advertising Practice Copy Advice team in future so as to avoid making the same mistake in future.