No, BrewDog, Beer Doesn't Count as a Serving of Fruit and Veg

In 2013, BrewDog founder and CEO James Watt said he'd rather take his money and “set fire to it” than pay for traditional marketing. Fast forward nine years and the irreverent Scottish brewer has stumped up for plenty of big budget campaigns—and been issued several advertising bans in the process. This time the company has provoked action by the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after sending out a marketing email promoting its fruit-infused IPA range with the subject line: “One of Your Five a Day.” Following a single complaint from a member of the public, the watchdog banned the communication. It claimed the email “misleadingly implied alcoholic beverages counted towards the five daily portions of fruit and vegetables” as recommended by the U.K. government, based on guidance from the World Health Organization. Netflix and … Booze? AB InBev to Air First Beer Spot on New Ad-Supported Tier The promotional copy pushed various beers including BrewDog’s Hazy Jane Guava, Pineapple Punch and Lost in Lychee and Lime. It read: “Summer is well and truly here. Quench your thirst while soaking up the sun (or rain) with our fruit-laden favorites.” BrewDog acknowledged the beers don't count toward a serving of fruit and veg. However, it argued that customers would understand this, saying the heading was not intended to be a factual claim. It also claimed its audience would understand its “playful” marketing style and recognize that the remark was intended to be “tongue-in-cheek.” However, because the claim referred to well-known government advice on health and wellbeing, the ASA argued people wouldn’t expect advertisers to use such language unless the claim were true. The regulator also said the positioning of the message in the email’s subject heading meant it was a “key element” of the ad. The ad must not appear again in its current form, and the ASA warned BrewDog not to mislead customers in the same way again. Punk promotions As a brand, Aberdeen-founded BrewDog has garnered a reputation as a lightning rod for controversy, racking up advertising bans for various reasons. It’s been dinged for claiming a series of limited edition gold-plated prized cans were made of solid gold; hiding expletives on its billboards (“Sober as a Motherfu—” and “F**k You CO2”); and running a previous “misleading” health-related campaign for its hard seltzer line. More recently, BrewDog was hit with a string of allegations about its workplace culture, with Watt being forced to apologize for the way he’d treated staff. In November, the business declared itself the “proud anti-sponsor” of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a series of billboards protesting the human rights record of host country Qatar. BrewDog Touts Itself as ‘Planet’s Favorite Beer’ After Wave of Controversy At the same time the company, which also runs more than 80 pubs across the U.K., is continuing broadcast matches to patrons throughout the four-week playoffs. It has been marketing its fan zones as “the perfect place to enjoy the Football World Cup this year.” In response to questions about its plan to both protest and showcase the World Cup, BrewDog said it didn’t want to prevent fans from watching the matches.

Alcohol Industry News

No, BrewDog, Beer Doesn't Count as a Serving of Fruit and Veg

Fruity promotion lands Scottish brewer in trouble with ad regulator—again

Rebecca Stewart

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Rebecca Stewart