An advert by Scots brewery giant BrewDog that claimed a can of their fruit beer counted as one of your five-a-day has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog. The brewery was ordered to remove the line from its promotional campaign after the Advertising Standards Authority deemed it to be misleading.
In a marketing email headed "One of your five a day", the pub chain included the phrase "feeling fruity" above a picture of a "Hazy Jane Guava" IPA can. However, the Aberdeenshire-based company claimed the ad was "tongue-in-cheek" and felt like recipients of the email would realise the joke.
The communication, sent out to customers in July this year, read: "Summer is well and truly here. Quench your thirst while soaking up the sun (or rain) with our fruit laden favourites. From Pineapple Punch to our limited edition Hazy Jane Passionfruit, we've got all your fruit needs covered!"
An investigation was launched by watchdogs after a single complaint argued that the "one of your five a day" line was misleading. BrewDog management acknowledged that the advertised alcoholic drinks did not count towards a consumer's 'five a day'.
However, they believed that recipients would be aware that the beers were not equivalent to a portion of fruit or veg. Company bosses therefore argued that the subject heading was neither intended to be, nor likely to be, interpreted as a factual claim about the beers being promoted in the email.
They added the email was only sent to existing BrewDog customers who had previously signed up to receive their marketing emails and felt that those who received the email were likely to realise that"one of your five a day" was a "tongue-in-cheek" remark.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad was in breach of regulations and ordered it to be banned. An ASA spokesman said: "Government guidelines recommended people eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
"The ASA acknowledged that the subject heading "one of your five a day" might be interpreted by some consumers as a humorous nod to the fruit flavoured beers featured in the body of the email. However, because the claim referred to well-known government advice on health and well-being, we considered that, in general, consumers would not expect advertisers to include such claims unless the advertised product was recognised as meeting the requirements of that advice.
"Further, the claim appeared in the email's subject heading, which we considered positioned it as a key element of the ad's message."
He added: "We understood that many consumers would be aware that some craft beers contained an unusually high amount of fruit. We considered that, in general, consumers would be uncertain as to whether an alcoholic beverage with fruit content counted as a portion of fruit under the government's '5 A Day' advice, or whether some of the nutritional benefits of a '5 A Day' portion would be retained.
"We therefore considered consumers were likely to interpret the claim 'one of your five a day' to mean that the fruit flavoured beers in the ad's body copy counted towards the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables. Because alcoholic drinks did not count towards a person's '5 A day', we concluded that the claim was misleading."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
