Scottish Gin Society’s Facebook posts fall foul of advertising standards

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against The Scottish Gin Society, ruling that 10 Facebook posts had breached guidelines by encouraging excessive alcohol consumption and suggesting gin could lead to sexual success.

In a ruling published today (5 September), the ASA said that it had investigated four issues contained within a complaint against The Scottish Gin Society, all of which were upheld.

The complaint, made by the Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership, accused The Scottish Gin Society of encouraging excessive drinking, claiming gin had nutritional benefits, implying gin had therapeutic qualities and could enhance physical and mental capabilities, and linking alcohol to sexual success.

The accusations centred around 10 Facebook posts published on the society’s account between January 2017 and January 2018.

Among the posts that were deemed inappropriate include one dated 4 November 2017 which including an image with the text “A banana has 150 calories a G&T has 110 calories Case closed” and captioned “We’re all about making healthy choices”.

Another post, dated 27 December 2017, featured an image with the text “Healthy eating and exercise make you look better naked. So does gin. Your choice” and was captioned “In case you’re feeling a bit bloated after the festivities, you have choices!”.

The Scottish Gin Society argued that its Facebook posts should not be considered as advertisements and therefore not fall within the remit of the ASA. It added that it was not promoting a particular product or service to buy, nor did it benefit financially from the sale of third-party products. Moreover, it noted that “most of the content” was sourced from third-party posts and was not written by the society. The society voluntarily removed all 10 posts from its Facebook page.

The ASA, however, ruled that the society’s posts were within the remit of the CAP code “because they were directly connected to the promotion of The Scottish Gin Society’s membership service and the intention to sell gin, which was therefore directly connected to the supply of Scottish gin”.

The organisation also found that the society’s posts implied that “alcohol should be drunk at all times, including as a way to quench thirst”, encouraged “readers to consume alcohol even if their health was suffering”, made “a ‘reduced energy’ comparative nutrition claim”, suggested gin was “capable of speeding up metabolism”, and “linked the consumption of alcohol with sexual activity”.

It added that although it understood that the intention behind the posts was “light-hearted and humorous”, they nevertheless breached advertising standards.

The ASA concluded: “We welcomed The Scottish Gin Society’s action to remove the posts. We told The Scottish Gin Society to ensure that in their future ads they did not encourage the excessive consumption of alcohol, not to make comparative nutrition claims or health claims in relation to alcohol, and not to imply that alcohol had therapeutic qualities or suggest that it could enhance physical capabilities. We also told them not to imply that alcohol could enhance attractiveness or lead to sexual success”.

A spokesman for The Scottish Gin Society told various media sources: “This is the most po-faced, fun-free, nanny-state judgment imaginable. They aren’t even adverts, nor did we write them.

“We are nominating the ASA for a ‘Humour Bypass’ gong at our awards night”.

In a more formal statement, the society added: “To be clear, as a not-for-profit organisation, who are not funded by distillers or producers we do not sell, or make money from, promoting Scottish gin. We have been founded on a love of Scottish gin and that remains our key purpose and focus.

“Many of the posts The ASA have selected are either re-posts of amusing memes or simply links to articles from external news or blog articles. We did, and still do feel, that these should not fall under ASA remit and would also like to point out that no ‘ban’ has been enforced on us.

“Importantly, we see this as a warning to other social or community Facebook pages, who, following this ruling, may also be at risk of negative rulings by the ASA. We exist to promote and support the thriving Scottish gin industry and the public who love it.

“While we have a light-hearted and fun personality, we do not think gin has magical or medical qualities, nor would we ever condone irresponsible or unhealthy consumption. It was never our intention to upset or offend anyone”.

The Scottish Gin Society was founded in 2015 by Glasgow businessman Stephen White.