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ASA Ruling on URBN UK Ltd

URBN UK Ltd t/a Urban Outfitters

Stephenson Harwood
1 Finsbury Circus
London
EC2M 7SH

Date:

19 February 2014

Media:

Point of sale, Internet (on own site)

Sector:

Retail

Number of complaints:

1

Agency:

In House

Complaint Ref:

A13-252935

Ad

The website www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk featured a hip flask.  The website stated "F**k My Liver Hip Flask ... Drink like the rebel you are with this F**K My Liver printed hip flask".  Text on the hip flask stated "FUCK MY LIVER".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the website was irresponsible because it could encourage excessive drinking.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

Response

URBN UK Ltd t/a Urban Outfitters said it was their intention to produce a funny and light-hearted ad to attract the attention of consumers that reflected their 'street style' attitude.  They said they did not encourage drinking and that they did not sell alcoholic beverages.  Urban Outfitters said the phrases "fuck my liver" and "drink like the rebel you are" were meant to represent an attitude of disregard for others' beliefs and the phrases were meant to be taken as light-hearted statements that portrayed a rebellious attitude that disregarded healthy living and as such, were not meant to be taken seriously.  They said "Fuck my liver" could be interpreted in numerous different ways related to unhealthy living and did not necessarily relate to alcohol.  They said that phrase was frequently used as a song title, included in song lyrics and was also a fashionable phrase commonly used by their customers and featured on clothing and related products.  They said the phrase was intended to encourage sales of the hip flask and was not intended to encourage drinking of alcohol.

Urban Outfitters said that "Drink like the rebel you are" could be interpreted in a number of different ways.  They said a rebel was a person who stood up for their own personal opinions despite what others thought.  They said to drink like a rebel was to drink as a person wished and that related to drinking a lot or a little.

They said that the ad had not portrayed drinking as a challenge and that "Fuck my liver" portrayed a disregard for one's health and the phrase "Drink like the rebel you are" encouraged consumers to drink what they liked.  

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered the advertiser's assertion that the two phrases represented an attitude of disregard and that "Fuck my liver" did not necessarily relate to alcohol consumption.  However, we considered that the strong link with the product's purpose and the reference to "liver" would be interpreted as a direct reference to alcohol consumption.  We considered that the phrase "Fuck my liver" was a message to actively disregard well-known advice about the negative effects of alcohol on the liver.  

We also considered that the word 'rebels' was, due to popular culture, likely to be seen as a reference to those who rejected normal conventions and were likely to take activities to an extreme.  We therefore considered that in the context of a product for consuming alcohol, the phrase "Drink like the rebel you are" was likely to be seen as a direct encouragement to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, portraying drinking alcohol as a challenge.

Because Urban Outfitters advertised a product directly linked with the consumption of alcohol in a way that was likely to encourage excessive drinking, we concluded it was irresponsible and therefore breached the Code.

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (Responsible advertising), 18.1 and 18.4 (Alcohol).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told URBN UK Ltd t/a Urban Outfitters not to use words or phrases which were irresponsible, encouraged excessive drinking or portrayed drinking alcohol as a challenge.

How to comply with the rules

For advice and training on the Advertising Codes please visit the CAP website.

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