A nightclub in Leeds has had one of its social media posts banned by regulators.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has reprimanded the bar, among others, for encouraging excessive drinking. Popworld then had to remove the offending post. Posted on Instagram, the text read: "When your pal hands you another shot and you’re not sure you can handle it but you take it anyway…”
The ASA said the accompanying photo encouraged excessive drinking and showed people who appeared to be under 25 years old. The regulator said: "We acknowledged that the ads were intended to be light-hearted. However, we considered they nonetheless condoned and encouraged excessive drinking and therefore were socially irresponsible and breached the Code.”
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Popworld did acknowledge that the ad had "possibly breached the code". They have removed the post and said others will be reviewed to follow up. The ASA also banned social media posts from the Slug & Lettuce in Glasgow, The Spiritualist in Glasgow, and The Hive and Lulu in Edinburgh.
The Hive had posted adverts that said things like: “Not only do I dance like nobody is watching, I also drink as if I don’t work in the morning,” and “Drinks from £1.” The posts have since been removed and City Clubs (trades as The Hive) have since removed them. All the other clubs reprimanded have also removed offending ads and accepted the decision.
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