Travel/Holidays

A post on the advertisers own X account wishing their followers a Happy Christmas included a video featuring an Irish comedian sitting on a wall in Connemara drinking a glass of poitin. The post tagged the comedian and identified the location of where the video was taken.
“Happy Christmas Everyone. A toast of health and happiness to you all.”
The post included various hashtags:
“#Sláinte #NollaigShona #HappyChristmas #Galway #Ireland #VisitGalway”

In the video the man states:
“So to me poitin, apart from being a beautiful drink when it’s made right, is also a great metaphor for Connemara, in that it’s independent, its outlaw, its beautiful, but it can also drive you crazy. There’s many a decent man toothless but has ended up in psychiatric hospitals drinking this from the age of about 7. But here’s to your health and here’s to Connemara.”
He takes a sip of the drink.
“Oh that’s gorgeous lads, oh Jesus that’s really nice. Oh my good god, it’s kind of sweet and drinky at the same time. Oh I do feel like lying down in a field. Oh my god.”

The complainant objected to the post on the following grounds.

Issue 1:
The complainant objected to the fact that the post did not include a responsibility message.

Issue 2:
The complainant considered that the description of how the drink tasted by the person in the video was glorifying alcohol consumption. They also considered that this glorification was an attempt to influence all people to drink alcohol.

Issue 3:
The complainant considered that the reference to consuming alcohol from “about the age of 7” was suggesting that children from as young as 7 consume alcohol.

Issue 4:
The complainant considered that the depiction of one man with a bottle of poitin was promoting excessive consumption of alcohol, particularly as no reference was made to abstinence or moderation.

Issue 5:
The complainant considered that the reference to men being ‘toothless’ and ending up in a ‘psychiatric hospital’ was making light of over-indulgence of alcohol.

Issue 6:
The complainant considered that the advertisement was claiming that alcohol had therapeutic properties.

The advertisers stated that they were not an official tourism agency, that they were individuals sharing their love for Galway, and therefore they were not advertisers.

They said that the content was created by a separate creator and that they simply reshared it. While they did not consider themselves an advertiser, they did not want to cause offence or breach any laws or standards, they advised that they had removed the post.

Further information:

The Executive reviewed the advertisers’ website and noted that third party advertising was placed throughout the website. On the bottom of the home page, there was a link to an ‘Advertise With Us’ page and on that page, there were various options as to how to ‘Join the Community’ by either becoming a member or by placing advertising.
The website included the following statements:

“Visit Galway is dedicated to the promotion, development and support of tourism in Galway and the West of Ireland. Through a variety of ongoing and new activities, Visit Galway continuously strives to actively promote and increase visitor numbers to and throughout Galway, for the benefit of local communities and businesses.

Visit Galway is independently run, and are neither government or council funded, meaning we are reliant on you, local businesses, to help raise funds in order to finance the many promotional activities to showcase our beautiful destination to both tourists and locals alike.

Visit Galway offers a strong promotional platform for Galway through our popular visitgalway.ie website and our various social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn).

Benefits
By joining and supporting the Visit Galway community your business can avail of the following benefits;

A full & comprehensive listing for your business on the Visit Galway website.
Access to discounted rates to promote your business on the Visit Galway social channels.
Access to discounted rates to promote your business offers on the Visit Galway website.

Membership Fee
One Business Listing: €159.00 per annum.

ADVERTISE WITH US
Are you looking to advertise your business and get your brand in front of the Visit Galway audience? If so, get in touch with us directly to discuss how we can best support your business needs and goals.”

The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Council noted that the video had not been created by the advertisers, however the advertisers had chosen to embed the content into their post. The Council noted that the website was a commercial website and therefore considered that content posted by the account was advertising.

Issue 1 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted the Code requirement that marketing communications that feature or refer to alcohol, even if alcohol is not the main product being marketed, can be assessed against the alcohol section of the Code. In this case, the Council noted that the post was created as a Christmas greeting and had featured a personality consuming alcohol and that no message had been included regarding responsible alcohol consumption. In the absence of such a message, the Council considered that the post was in breach of Section 9.4 of the Code.

Issue 2 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted that the complainant considered the statements made in the video describing the taste of the alcohol as ‘gorgeous’, ‘oh Jesus that’s really nice’, ‘oh my good god, it’s kind of sweet and drinky at the same time’ were glorifying alcohol. The Council considered the requirement of the Code that a marketing communication should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society (S. 3.3) and the requirement in the alcohol section that marketing communications should be socially responsible and should not exploit the young or the immature. They should neither encourage excessive drinking nor present abstinence or moderation in a negative way (S. 9.1). The Council considered that the description, in the advertisement, of how the alcohol tasted could be seen to glorify alcohol, thereby encouraging consumption. In the circumstances the Council considered the post was in breach of Sections 3.1 and 9.1 of the Code.

Issue 3 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted that the complainant considered that the statement “there’s many a decent man toothless but has ended up in psychiatric hospitals drinking this from the age of about 7” was suggesting that children from the age of 7 consume alcohol. The Council considered the requirement of the Code that a marketing communication should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society (S. 3.3). The Council considered that the reference to the consumption of alcohol from ‘the age of about 7’ was irresponsible and could be seen to be encouraging children to start drinking. In the circumstances, the Council considered the post was in breach of Section 3.3 of the Code.

Issue 4 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted that the man featured in the video was holding a full, open bottle of poitin, and had been shown pouring a measure freehand into a glass from which they subsequently drank from. The Council noted the requirements of the Code that marketing communications should only depict or imply the responsible and moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks, (S. 9.8a) and that they should not show, imply or encourage immoderate or irresponsible drinking or regular solitary drinking. This applies to the amount of alcohol, the numbers drinking or the way drinking is portrayed (S. 9.8b). The Council considered that, while the man was shown drinking from a glass, they were holding an open bottle of spirits, without any indication that they would only be drinking what was in the glass. In the circumstances, the Council considered the post had implied immoderate consumption of alcohol and was therefore in breach of Sections 3.3, 9.1, 9.8a and 9.8b.

Issue 5 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted that the video featured in the post had included a description of the effects of drinking poitin, including that men had ended up ‘toothless’ and ‘in a psychiatric hospital’. The Council considered the Code requirement that marketing communications may not suggest, commend or make fun of over-indulgence of alcohol or its after-effects, (S. 9.8f). The Council considered that the description of men ending up ‘toothless’ and ‘in a psychiatric hospital’ had made fun of the after-effects of over-indulgence of alcohol and therefore, was in breach of Sections 3.3 and 9.8f of the Code.

Issue 6 – Complaint Upheld:
The Council noted the requirements of the Code that a marketing communication should not claim that alcohol has therapeutic qualities or that it is a stimulant, a mood-changer or a sedative, (S. 9.8g). The Council noted the person featured in the video had stated that they ‘wanted to lie down in a field’ after drinking from the glass of poitin in reference to how good the alcohol tasted. The Council noted that the complaint was made on the basis that the video was referring to the therapeutic qualities of the alcohol. In this case, the Council considered that the description of the taste of the alcohol was implying that it had therapeutic qualities and that it had a sedative effect given the person wanted to ‘lie down in a field’. In the circumstances, the Council considered the post was in breach of Section 9.8g of the Code.

Action Required:

The Council, while noting that the post had been removed, required that the advertisement should not appear in its current form again.

The Council reminded advertisers to ensure care when sharing content that featured or referred to alcohol.