Background
Summary of council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Meta ad for MOJO Manchester, a bar, seen in May 2025, featured a caption that stated, “T-wrecked”. The ad featured an image of Barney the Dinosaur and text which stated, “ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR – Barney”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ad was irresponsible because it:
- was likely to have particular appeal to people under 18 years of age; and
- encouraged excessive consumption of alcohol.
Response
1. Voodoo Doll Ltd t/a MOJO Manchester said their social media audience was restricted by Meta to over 18-year olds and they provided data which showed the post’s audience demographic. They said they could not control whether people were circumventing Meta’s policies and protocols but given that their operational licenses would be at risk if they were to engage in the sale of alcohol to under 18s there would be no benefit in seeking to promote to them. They said the character “Barney” was from the 1980s and 1990s and would resonate with their target audience of over 18s and that no attempt was made to influence any under 18s.
2. In reference to the encouragement of excessive consumption of alcohol, they said that at no point did any element of the ad seek to incentivise or promote the excess consumption of alcohol. The construction of the post was to be an amusing cautionary tale, hence the use of the character Barney and the phrase “T-wrecked”. They had attempted to engage with adult guests in an amusing way that prompted comment and discussion, not consumption.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications that featured or referred to alcoholic drinks must not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture. They should not feature or portray real or fictitious characters who were likely to appeal particularly to people under 18 in a way that might encourage the young to drink.
We acknowledged the advertiser’s comment that the character “Barney” would have a particular resonance with their target audience of over 18s. However, we considered that although children may not have recognised the character to be Barney from the TV show “Barney & Friends”, which appeared on UK TV for periods between 1994 and the early 2000s, the image of the dinosaur was brightly coloured with a playful, friendly appearance, which we considered would particularly appeal to children, especially combined with the counting rhythm of the text, “ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR”.
We also acknowledged the advertiser’s comment that they could not control individuals circumventing Meta’s policies and protocols. However, we understood that Facebook and Instagram did not require stringent age verification upon sign-up, such as through marketing lists that had been validated by payment data or credit checking. Additionally, interest-based targeting had not been used to actively exclude audiences likely to be under 18. As a result, the ad appeared in an environment where users self-declared their age without robust verification, and no additional steps were taken to prevent younger users from seeing it. We therefore considered that under-18s had not been entirely excluded from the audience.
For the reasons above, we concluded that the ad had particular appeal to under-18s and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.14 (Alcohol).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications that featured or referred to alcoholic drinks must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that was likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that were unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking.
The ad featured the text, “ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR”, which we considered was likely to be interpreted by consumers as encouragement to drink alcohol at the bar to the extent that they were passed out on the floor. That impression was further strengthened by the word “wrecked” in the caption “T-wrecked”, which we understood was a slang term for being very drunk. We acknowledged that the ad was intended to be amusing in tone. However, we considered it nonetheless encouraged excessive drinking and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.1 (Alcohol).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Voodoo Doll Ltd t/a MOJO Manchester to ensure that future ads featuring or referring to alcoholic drinks did not have particular appeal to under-18s and did not contain anything that was likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that were unwise, including excessive drinking.
