Carling celebrates herd mentality

The latest instalment in Carling’s “Belong” series of television adverts launched on Monday, before the other two ads in the series were cleared of breaching Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulations for alcohol advertising. “Belong” was first launched in late 2006, using images of starlings flying in formation.

The current series, including the new execution, features the same five characters in each. The latest, entitled “Rescue”, is set in the Wild West, and depicts four of the characters rescuing the fifth from a tea party. Director Fredrik Bond filmed the ad in Spain, in the same location that “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” was filmed. The campaign is the result of a £14 million investment from brand owner Coors Brewers.
The two other adverts, one in an arctic setting and the other in space, depict similar scenes of solidarity among friends, all followed by an image of a pint of Carling with the word “Belong”. The ASA received complaints that the television advertising, as well as a related poster, “implied that alcohol was integral to successful socialising and belonging to a social group”. The ASA, in addition, investigated whether the advertising “linked alcohol with brave, tough and daring people and situations, and suggested alcohol could overcome problems”.
Coors argued that the ads depicted “warm, friendly and uplifting scenarios depicting a light-hearted take on camaraderie and the bond of friendship within a group”, and added that “Carling was associating itself with the behaviour of sticking by your mates, but not in any way suggesting that each of the individuals in the group was a Carling drinker or indeed that they necessarily drank alcohol at all”.
The ASA found the advertising to not be in breach of any of the regulations regarding alcohol advertising. The latest advert will be screened for the next ten weeks on TV and cinema, supported by online activity. Carling will also benefit from a campaign entitled “Strike Cold”, with on- and off-trade activity, as well as ITV movie sponsorship.

Clinton Cawood, 07/05/08