Ad description
An Instagram post from FourLoko, a brewer of alcoholic drinks, seen on 18 February 2025, included the caption “SEND IT [three rocket emojis]”. An image showed a man with his head tipped back and pouring a can of FourLoko into his open mouth from a height.
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad encouraged drinking alcohol unwisely, challenged whether it was irresponsible.
Response
Phusion Projects LLC t/a FourLoko said that they had removed the ad and would not use any image showing a consumer pouring a product into their mouth from a height in future.
They said that they had deliberately packaged the FourLoko product to ensure it contained under four units of alcohol, in line with guidance on single-serve containers from the Portman Group. They considered their ad in the context of other ASA rulings. By limiting it to one can of 3.7 units they believed they had mitigated the risk of the man not being able to control the amount of alcohol consumed. They also believed there was no suggestion in the ad that the individual had consumed, or would consume, more than a single beverage.
FourLoko said the background in the image and the accompanying caption reflected their brand which focused on live music events. The caption was intended to reflect the enjoyment to be had by consuming FourLoko at such an event. It was not intended to represent speed of consumption. Nonetheless, they acknowledged that there could be some ambiguity in the combination of the image and caption. They said they would keep that in mind for future marketing.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that were unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking.
The ad featured an image of a man pouring from a can of FourLoko, an alcoholic drink which we understood had alcohol by volume (ABV) of 8.4%, into his mouth from a height. The ASA considered that style of drinking would make it difficult to control how much alcohol was being consumed and at what speed. Therefore, the image showed a drinking style that would allow a large amount of alcohol to be consumed quickly, and in an uncontrolled and irresponsible manner, and we considered that style of drinking unwise.
We also considered that the text “SEND IT” followed by three rocket emojis would be likely to be understood as representing speed and that reinforced the impression that the beverage should be consumed quickly.
We therefore considered that by portraying and encouraging a style of drinking that was unwise, the ad was irresponsible and breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.1 (Alcohol).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Phusion Projects LLC t/a FourLoko that future ads should be socially responsible and not contain anything that was likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that were unwise. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
