BrewDog Ads Banned for Promoting Excessive Drinking

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has criticized BrewDog for two Facebook ads that violated marketing rules. The adverts, seen in July, advertised a ‘bottomless beer’ offer, entitling consumers to 90 minutes of unlimited beer for £19.95.

Ads Breach CAP Code Rules

One advert included a video featuring two men drinking a beer each with a caption above them stating, “when bottomless beers start to hit you,” followed by rapid images of 12 other alcoholic beverages appearing on screen. The ASA challenged whether this implied that alcohol had therapeutic qualities and was capable of changing mood, and ruled it breached the CAP Code. The authority noted that consumers were likely to understand the phrase “start to hit you” as referring to the point at which the intoxicating effects of alcohol began to become noticeable. The visual change from the men’s neutral expressions to more satisfied and positive ones immediately after drinking suggested that alcohol could change mood.

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The other advert featured a video of a woman, with the caption “you” next to her, running towards a glass of beer which included text stating “unlimited beers for 90 mins under £20.” Both adverts were deemed socially irresponsible for encouraging excessive drinking. The ASA found that the “bottomless” and “unlimited” language, combined with the woman’s eagerness to begin drinking, implied an urgency to consume as much alcohol as possible within the time limit.

ASA Finds Ads Encourage Excessive Consumption

A BrewDog spokesperson said: “We take our responsibilities as an advertiser seriously and are committed to ensuring that all BrewDog marketing complies with applicable advertising standards. We have reviewed the social media post, removed it, and it will not run again.” BrewDog said it was committed to ensuring its marketing complied with advertising standards and had removed the ads.