Ad description
A TV ad promoted Carling. It featured a mascot and his coach training for the approaching season. On the day of the first match, the mascot was shown running onto the pitch before tripping and falling. The coach was shown in what appeared to be the hospitality area. As the incident occurred he walked into the seating area, holding two pints of beer, before yelling "It's good, but it's not quite Carling".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was irresponsible, because it condoned or encouraged the consumption of alcohol in a football stadium within sight of the pitch, which he understood was an illegal activity.
Response
Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd (Molson Coors) thought that a reasonable viewer would not believe the context of the ad to demonstrate an illegal scene, or see it as condoning irresponsible or anti-social behaviour. Instead, it was designed to be a light-hearted take on a mascot’s public clumsiness, in keeping with their campaign which demonstrated a failure after apparent success.
Molson Coors understood that the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol Etc) Act 1985 (Sporting Events Act) permitted the consumption of alcohol from hospitality areas in view of the pitch at football events, save for the period beginning 15 minutes before and finishing 15 minutes after the end of the published period of the event itself. They said the coach was clearly within the hospitality area, save that he very slightly leant out while gesticulating. They said a reasonable viewer would not believe that Carling condoned drinking alcohol in the concourse. They also stated that the events depicted, showing the mascot stepping out onto the pitch, typically occurred a considerable period (i.e. more than 15 minutes) before kick-off. That was supported by the fact that the teams had evidently not arrived on the pitch when the mascot’s accident took place. They felt that an individual would require an unusually high knowledge of the law around alcohol in sporting grounds to believe that the ad could conceivably be representing unlawful consumption within a sporting ground.
Clearcast re-iterated the requirements of The Sporting Events Act 1985. They pointed out that when the coach character was shown holding two pints of beer, he was clearly standing within the hospitality area, although he very slightly leaned out when he shouted to the mascot character. Furthermore, there was no suggestion that the match had actually started because the scene only featured the mascot running out onto the side-lines of the pitch and did not feature any football players. Therefore, they believed it could reasonably be argued that the scene did not contravene the Sporting Events Act and did not feature irresponsible or anti-social behaviour.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA understood that the Sporting Events Act prevented the consumption of alcohol within view of the pitch, and included rooms within the ground from which the event could be directly viewed, during a restricted period of 15 minutes before the start of the event to 15 minutes after the end of the event. We considered that the coach appeared to be located in the hospitality area, with access to a bar and outdoor seating, and that the pitch was clearly in sight from that position. While there was no reference to the length of time before kick-off, we noted that the players did not appear to be on the pitch and that it was typical for mascots or pre-match entertainment to take place before play commenced. Further, we noted that when the coach was first shown holding two pints, they were in glasses and appeared to have been freshly poured, suggesting that they had just been purchased from within the hospitality area. In light of that, we considered that most viewers would believe that the coach had purchased the beers from a bar within the ground prior to the restricted period before the start of the game, as he was permitted to do. Therefore, we considered that the ad did not depict, encourage or condone an illegal activity and concluded that it was not irresponsible.
We investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules 1.2 1.2 Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society. (Social responsibility) and 4.9 4.9 Advertisements must not condone or encourage violence, crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour. (Harm and offence), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
