Background
Summary of Council decision:
Four issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Two Facebook posts for Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow and an Instagram post for Popworld, Lower Briggate, Leeds:
a. The first Facebook post for Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow, posted 1 June 2022, featured the caption “The best way to start off this four-day bank holiday weekend! Which cocktail tree will you be treating yourself and your bestie to? We can’t wait to celebrate with you”. Underneath was an image of a stand holding nine cocktails.
b. The second Facebook post for Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow, posted 8 June 2022, featured the caption “Happy #NationalBestFriendDay @ in your bestie Why not make their day with our S&L E-Gift Cards?! Because what’s better than giving the gift of fabulous memories & delicious cocktails? Purchase your gift card now” and included a link to purchase an e-gift card. Underneath was an image of five young women sat around a table, each with multiple cocktails.
c. The Instagram post for Popworld Lower, Briggate, Leeds, posted 25 June 2022, featured an image with text that stated “When your pal hands you another shot and you’re not sure you can handle it but you take it anyway…” and an image below of Scarlett Moffatt, grimacing while participating in a bushtucker trial in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. The post included the caption “POP party Saturday tonight [sic] from 9pm. Shot & Bomb deals all night so why not treat a mate?!? FREE entry B4 11pm #aintnopartylikeapopworldparty #leeds #party #itstheweekend #drink”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the following ads were irresponsible, because they encouraged excessive drinking:
1. Ad (a); and
2. Ad (b).
3. One complainant challenged whether ad (c) was irresponsible for the same reason.
4. The ASA also challenged whether ad (b) breached the Code because it featured people who seemed to be, or who were, under the age of 25 years.
Response
1. - 4. Stonegate Pub Company Ltd t/a Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow and Popworld, Lower Briggate, Leeds (Stonegate) acknowledged that the ads possibly breached the Code and said they had removed them. They said they were reviewing their other social media ads and would remove any that were similar.
Responding in relation to ad (a), they said it should have said “besties” and not “bestie”. By omitting the “s” this could have been understood as encouraging two people to buy a cocktail tree with nine drinks in one order. In future they would take steps to prevent this mistake happening again.
In relation to ad (b), they acknowledged it could have been understood as encouraging five people to consume excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. They were not able to confirm the age of the individuals in the ad and accepted that some people may have perceived the individuals as being under 25.
In relation to ad (c), they said that the ad did not encourage the consumption of the shot, only the taking of it from the friend. However, they accepted that it could be understood as encouraging a person to reluctantly consume excessive amounts of alcohol.
Assessment
1., 2. & 3. Upheld
The CAP Code required marketing communications to be socially responsible and contain nothing that was likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that were unwise, including encouraging excessive drinking.
The ASA considered that ad (a), which included the text “Which cocktail tree will you be treating yourself and your bestie to?” alongside an image of a stand holding nine cocktails, implied that the cocktails would be drunk between two people. We considered that ad (b), which included an image of five women each with multiple cocktails, implied that the women would drink all the drinks between themselves. We considered that ad (c), which included the text “When your pal hands you another shot and you’re not sure you can handle it but you take it anyway”, encouraged people to continue drinking when they had already drunk to a point where they should not have anymore. We therefore concluded that the ads encouraged excessive drinking.
Whilst we welcomed Stonegate’s willingness to remove the posts, we concluded that ads (a), (b) and (c) were socially irresponsible and breached the Code.
On this point, ads (a), (b) and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.1 18.1 Marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable. (Alcohol).
4. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that people shown drinking alcohol or playing a significant role in an ad for alcohol must neither be, nor seem to be, under 25 years of age.
Ad (b) showed five women who appeared to be under the age of 25, each with multiple cocktails. We therefore concluded the ad breached the Code.
On this point, ad (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.16 18.16 People shown drinking or playing a significant role must neither be nor seem to be under 25. People under 25 may be shown in marketing communications, for example, in the context of family celebrations, but must be obviously not drinking. (Alcohol).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Stonegate Pub Company Ltd t/a Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow and Popworld, Lower Briggate, Leeds to ensure that their future ads did not encourage excessive drinking. We also told them to ensure their future ads did not feature people who were or appeared to be under 25 years of age.
