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The video on a SuperValu franchisee’s Facebook Christmas Specials featured a young woman wearing a Christmas hat. The woman spoke as she picked various alcohol products from the shelves and provided information on their price.
Complaint
The complainant expressed concern that the advertising had not included the “drink responsibly” message.
Response
The advertisers said that the advertisement in question was issued by one of their retailers without pre-approval. They said when advertising themselves, they always included the Drink Aware logo, and Drink responsibly and over 18s only messaging. They said when sharing their social media posts with retailers to share on their own pages they did likewise.
The advertisers said that they ran social media training webinars and training sessions with retailer groups where they always included a reminder about relevant advertising guidelines, including “please drink responsibly” messaging and “over 18s only”. They said they had also issued communications to all retailers advising them of alcohol regulations.
In conclusion the advertisers offered their apologies for the oversight which occurred on this occasion and said that they had informed the retailer in question that the error should not be repeated.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
They noted that the advertisement had not carried the “drink responsibly” messaging and considered that, therefore, it was in breach of Section 9.4 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
Advertisements which promoted alcohol products must be withdrawn or amended to include a responsible drinking message.
