Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on social media ads for alcohol products that featured people who were, or appeared to be, aged under 25.
The ads were identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules.
Ad description
An Instagram highlight on White Claw UK’s page labelled “WAVEMAKERS” featured three stories:
a. The first story, reposted from @megharris._ on 24 October 2025, featured an image of various polaroid pictures of young people holding cans of White Claw. The White Claw logo appeared in the top right corner. The song “Gimme More” by Britney Spears played in the background.
b. The second story, reposted from @maxbrown05 on 6 November 2025, featured a group of young people wearing fancy dress costumes and holding cans of White Claw. The White Claw logo appeared in the top right corner. Text on the image stated, “#whiteclawwednesdays @whiteclawuk #studentwavemaker Green apple >> [green apple emoji].
c. The third story, reposted from @riedlfit on 9 November 2025, featured an overhead photo of several people standing in a circle, with only their lower bodies visible, each holding a can of White Claw in the centre of the circle. Text on the picture stated, “#studentwavemaker [star emoji, eyes emoji]” and the White Claw logo appeared in the top right corner. The song “A Sunday Kind Of Love” by Etta James played in the background.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads breached the Code because they featured people who seemed to be, or who were, under 25 years of age.
Response
Mark Anthony Brands (UK) Ltd t/a White Claw UK said that they had removed the “WAVEMAKERS” highlight from their Instagram page and instructed their social media team to discontinue the use of the hashtag “#studentwavemakers”. They were undertaking a comprehensive audit of their social media channels to ensure all content aligned with their internal marketing and responsible advertising guidelines. They would also be conducting refresher training with their social media team to reinforce their commitment to responsible advertising practices.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that people shown drinking alcohol or playing a significant role in an alcohol ad must neither be, nor seem to be, under 25 years of age.
Ad (a) showed polaroid pictures of people holding cans of White Claw at what appeared to be a house party. We considered the people had a youthful appearance, including because of their minimal make-up and outfits. Ad (b) showed a group of people dressed in fancy dress holding cans of White Claw on what appeared to be a night out. We considered the people featured also had a youthful appearance. For those reasons, we considered the ads showed young people who appeared to be under 25 playing a significant role in alcohol ads. We had also not seen evidence to demonstrate that they were over 25.
Ads (b) and (c) included the hashtag #studentwavemaker. We understood that White Claw had a student ambassador programme and that they were referred to as ‘Student Wavemakers’. Whilst we recognised that some university students would be over 25, because it was common in the UK for people to attend university either directly from school or college, or within a few years of leaving school, we understood that a large proportion of university students would be under 25. We therefore considered that the hashtag “#studentwavemaker” in ad (b) reinforced the impression that the people shown in the ad were under 25. Ad (c) showed a group of people holding cans of White Claw. Whilst we could not see their faces, because the ad included the hashtag “#studentwavemaker”, we considered that it implied the people in the ad were students and would be perceived to be under 25.
For those reasons, we concluded that the ads breached the Code.
Ads (a), (b) and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.16 (Alcohol).
Action
The ads must not appear again in the form investigated. We told Mark Anthony Brands (UK) Ltd t/a White Claw UK to ensure their future ads did not feature people who were or appeared to be under 25 years of age.
