Heineken escapes advertising ban

Heineken has escaped an advertising ban from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a youth alcohol council branded one of its ads “irresponsible” for implying alcohol was key to success.

The advert in questions showed two bottles of Heineken being clinked together alongside the text “Post-match ritual”. The Youth Alcohol Advertising Council (YAAC) said the ad was ad was “irresponsible” because it implied that alcohol was a key component of the success of a social event.

Defending the advert Heineken said the it was launched to support Heineken’s continued sponsorship of the Heineken Cup rugby competition and was featured around the final of the tournament, held in Cardiff.

It added that the ad did not depict people or the consumption of alcohol and they considered it “difficult to infer from the simple imagery that to have Heineken, or indeed any alcoholic drink, after a game was something that must be done to enjoy the sporting event.”

The ASA agreed nothing that “ritual” was likely to be understood as a reference to the “commonplace nature” of socialising after a match.

It said: “We acknowledged that the ad suggested that having a bottle of Heineken could be a part of socialising after a match, but did not consider that it placed Heineken or alcohol as the key component of the success of that event, or that a social post-match even would only take place in order to consume an alcoholic drink such as a Heineken beer.”

The watchdog concluded the ad was not in breach of its code.