Ad description
An Instagram post by the comedian Al Nash, @alnashcomedy, seen on 12 June 2025, featured a video of Al playing a character and had the caption “trying to work when it’s sunny outside”.
The man said into his mobile phone, “Hey man, sorry I can’t make the barbecue later. But have a great time and I’ll see you soon […]" He ended the call. A deep voice from off-screen said, “Coward.” The man asked, “Who’s there?” A can of Strongbow Strawberry Cider appeared on screen as the deep voice continued, “You make me sick.” The man replied, “Leave me alone, please.” The can said, “Hiding in the shadows when we could be out at that barbecue together.” The can also said, “Those cold winter months waiting and now we have the perfect opportunity. Friends, sun, music.” The man replied, “I know all this. I just have stuff to do.” The can said, “What could possibly compare to cracking me open? Taking the first sip. That crisp, sweet, strawberry sensation.” The man replied, “[…] I’m writing my wedding vows.”
The can then asked, “[…] when’s the ceremony?” The man answered, “It’s tomorrow and I’m bricking it.” The can responded, “And your fiancé, does she love you?”, to which the man replied, “Yeah, course she does.” The can then said, “So she’d want you to avoid any stress before the big day by, say, seeing friends at a barbecue.” The can also said, “So these vows, you could just wing it on the day if you had to?” to which the man replied, “I could probably wing it, yeah”. The can then stated, “So what are you waiting for?”
The man reached forward. A hand picked up the can. The man then appeared outside in a garden whilst wearing an apron. He opened the can, said “Cheers guys”, and started to drink from it.
The man then appeared in a jacket and tie. Facing the camera, he said his wedding vows: “Our love is a lot like a can of strawberry Strongbow, right? Sweet, refreshing and fizzy […]”
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad implied that alcohol might be indispensable or take priority in life, challenged whether it breached the Code.
Response
Heineken UK Ltd t/a Strongbow said they would remove the post. They explained the ad was intended to entertain rather than to make a literal claim about alcohol consumption and that the alcoholic content of the drink was not mentioned in the ad. They said the ad was a humorous, fictional sketch with an overtly surreal and comedic tone, exaggerated characterisation and absurd dialogue that parodied the common, internal conflict of choosing between social activities and personal responsibilities. It sat within the tradition of the comedy genre, satirical advertising and online sketches that exaggerated life’s dilemmas for comic effect.
Strongbow said that Al Nash was an established comedian known for fictional, character skits, whose audience would expect exaggerated, humorous content and would not interpret the content as a serious portrayal of emotional reliance on alcohol. They said the concept of a talking can was absurd, and not serious or realistic. It was a comedic device to externalise an exaggerated, internal monologue, rather than a serious suggestion that cider offered life guidance or emotional relief.
They said the man was not portrayed as distressed, lonely or dependent. He was comically overdramatic. They said he initially refused the cider, prioritising writing his wedding vows, and that alcohol was not therefore depicted as essential or unavoidable. The choice to attend the barbecue, and to consume cider, was a social decision to see friends, not an escape from problems. It was a choice between personal work and socialising, where socialising, rather than drinking alcohol, was the reward. They said the ad celebrated friendship and shared moments, and that alcohol was not shown as essential, indispensable, or a means to escape problems.
Strongbow said nervousness about the wedding was portrayed comedically rather than with emotional gravity. The cider was shown as part of a social setting, not as relieving anxiety, providing comfort or a solution to personal problems. They pointed out that the can said to the man that his wife-to-be would want him to see friends at the barbecue.
Al Nash said the ad used a talking can of cider that made exaggerated statements to parody a well-known scene from a Spider-Man film. The cider can was a comic device, and the overall tone was absurd and light-hearted, consistent with his established style of creating surreal, character-driven sketches that parody real-life moments and familiar scenes from popular culture.
He believed the ad did not suggest that alcohol was essential or more important than personal commitments. It ended with the man still delivering his wedding vows, albeit in a comedic way. The line comparing love to strawberry cider was a punchline, not a genuine comparison or life statement. He also said that he had received no direct complaints and that feedback in the post made it clear that viewers understood it as a comedic sketch and a parody. He did not therefore believe the ad implied that alcohol was in any way indispensable or should take priority in life.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not imply that alcohol might be indispensable or take priority in life.
The ad showed a talking can of cider trying to persuade a man to stop preparing his wedding vows and instead attend a barbecue where he would drink alcohol. The ASA acknowledged that viewers would understand the ad to be a fictional, comedic sketch. We accepted that it was a comic portrayal of an internal monologue that drew on a scene from a well-known film, and was light-hearted and humorous in tone.
The can of cider called the man a “Coward” and said, “You make me sick”, urging him to abandon his responsibilities. Despite the man saying, “Leave me alone, please” and “I just have stuff to do”, we considered that the can repeatedly undermined the man’s intentions, and pressurised him to attend the barbecue and drink alcohol with comments such as “Hiding in the shadows when we could be out at that barbecue together”.
We accepted that the man at first resisted, but he did succumb to the pressure to attend the barbecue. While the ad did not mention the drink’s alcoholic content directly and the barbecue involved socialising as well as drinking the cider, by suggesting the man and can of cider could be at the barbecue “together” and showing the man opening the can, saying “Cheers guys”, and starting to drink from it, we considered that pressure was put on the man to drink alcohol at a social event instead of writing his wedding vows for the following day.
We also considered that the can idealised the consumption of alcohol at events like a barbecue with the statements, “Those cold winter months waiting and now we have the perfect opportunity. Friends, sun, music” and “What could possibly compare to cracking me open? Taking the first sip. That crisp, sweet, strawberry sensation”. We considered that through those statements, the focus was on the enjoyment the man would experience from consuming the alcohol, rather than the enjoyment he would receive from socialising at the barbecue with friends.
Furthermore, through statements such as “So these vows, you could just wing it on the day if you had to?” and “I could probably wing it, yeah”, we considered the ad downplayed the importance of a groom writing his vows for his wedding the following day compared to drinking alcohol at the barbecue.
We accepted that referring to cider during the vows was intended as a punchline, but we considered that it reinforced the impression that preparing the vows was less important than drinking alcohol at a barbecue. For those reasons, we considered the ad portrayed alcohol as being more important than personal relationships and a significant life event, and therefore implied that alcohol was indispensable and took priority in life.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.6 (Alcohol).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Heineken UK Ltd t/a Strongbow to ensure that their future ads did not imply that alcohol was indispensable or took priority in life.
