Alcohol

The advertisement was text on the advertisers’ website on a page titled ‘Our History’. Under the heading ‘The Birth of Brennan’s Brew Company’ a sentence read: –

‘In the tradition of an exceptional family heritage, the eagerly awaited launch of Brennan’s Brewery (and its’ new creations), honours the culmination of years of testing and adapting unique brewing techniques to deliver the perfect dark beer, produced in this modest family brewery in Courtown county Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland.’

The complainant considered the advertising could mislead consumers into thinking the craft beer was produced locally, when they understood that there was no brewery in operation in Courtown.

The advertisers said that they were a small family business which employed people in Wexford and that they were very proud of their connection with Courtown which spanned over six decades. They said they had a pub in Courtown for many years where they sold their beer and were in the process of building a brewery pre-Covid. They said they were still in the process of building a small brewery at a new property, but that this was taking longer than expected. They also said that their website was down for maintenance.

Complaint Upheld.

The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.

The Council noted that the advertisement had claimed that the beer was produced in a brewery in Courtown, Co. Wexford and that no evidence had been provided to substantiate the claim. In the circumstances, the Council considered the advertising had the potential to be misleading and therefore was in breach of Code sections 4.1, 4.4, 4.9, and 4.10.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form unless its claims can be substantiated.