Brewdog defies watchdog to reuse banned ad again

The advertising watchdog banned this Instagram ad post

Controversial beer company Brewdog has ignored an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ban on a "misleading" ad by reposting it on social media.

Company boss James Watt posted the ad on Twitter and Linkedin and included a rebuke to the advertising watchdog for its "pretty meta" move.

The ASA told the BBC: "We're aware of Mr Watt's comments on social media.

"The ad rules are clear: you can't make health claims for alcoholic beverages, and that still stands."

An Instagram post for Brewdog's Clean & Press Hard Seltzer said: "Due to advertising regulations we cannot claim this drink is healthy," but continued with a reference to a low calorie claim.

Brewdog said the ad was "tongue-in-cheek" but agreed not to use it again.

But on the day the ban was announced Mr Watt republished the ad on social media, writing: "The ASA have banned our Instagram advert for saying that we cannot call our seltzer a health drink because we cannot call our seltzer a health drink. Pretty meta. We are also not allowed to tell people it only has 90 calories. Even though it has."

Brewdog was also reported to the ASA last week for claiming a competition prize was solid gold and worth £15,000.

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The Scottish firm had offered 10 people the chance to find a gold can hidden in a case of its beer.

Several winners of the gold beer can prize contested Brewdog's claim about its value when they discovered it was merely gold plated.

Brewdog said it stood by the valuation. Meanwhile, the ASA continues to look into whether the competition breached any of its rules.

Healthy beer?

The company's ad for its Clean & Press Hard Seltzer ran in January. It said: "Even though Clean & Press is only 90 calories per can, with no carbs or sugar and a little bit of alcohol, this is not a health drink. If you are looking for a health drink, do not drink Clean & Press."

The ASA also challenged whether the ad used nutrition claims that were not permitted for alcoholic drinks and whether the phrase "a little bit of alcohol" implied that the drink was low alcohol despite the product having an alcoholic strength by volume (ABV) of 5%.

The ASA said "only 90 calories per can" and "no carbs or sugar" were nutrition claims that were not permitted for alcoholic drinks, as was the implication that the product was beneficial to overall good health or health-related wellbeing.

The ASA said consumers would understand the claim "a little bit of alcohol" to mean that the product was low alcohol when it had an ABV of 5%, finding that the ad breached the Advertising Code on this point also.