Strongbow and Jägermeister have withdrawn social media ads following rulings by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found the campaigns breached rules on responsible alcohol marketing.
The ASA said that two Jägermeister adverts implied alcohol was “a key component of social success” and were therefore irresponsible. One ad featured a bottle of Jägermeister Manifest with the caption, “Manifesting the best nights of your life”, while another showed a bottle served on a silver platter with the tagline, “Jägermeister, serving the best night of your life”. The watchdog said both ads gave the impression that alcohol was essential to a successful social event.
Mast-Jägermeister UK accepted the ASA’s findings and withdrew both ads.
In a separate ruling, the ASA banned a Strongbow ad that appeared on Instagram as a sponsored post by comedian Al Nash. The sketch, which featured Strongbow Strawberry Cider, parodied a scene from Spider-Man and showed a talking can of cider persuading a man to attend a barbecue instead of writing his wedding vows. The ASA said the ad portrayed alcohol as more important than personal relationships and significant life events, implying it was indispensable and took priority in life.
Heineken UK, which owns Strongbow, said the ad was intended to entertain and not make a literal claim about alcohol consumption, but agreed to remove the post.
