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BrewDog defies watchdog ruling to reuse banned advert
Contentious Scottish craft brewer Brewdog has defied a watchdog ruling to ban one of its adverts, after its CEO James Watt decided to reuse the image along with a defiant message.
The original Instagram post, which was intended to advertise BrewDog’s Clean & Press Hard Seltzer, ran in January and read, per the BBC:
“Even though Clean & Press is only 90 calories per can, with no carbs or sugar and a little bit of alcohol, this is not a health drink. If you are looking for a health drink, do not drink Clean & Press.”
A spokesperson for the brewer said at the time that it had accepted the ruling.
It seems CEO James Watt had other ideas, though.
BrewDog’s co-founder posted the image on Twitter and LinkedIn along with the caption:
“The ASA have banned our Instagram advert for saying that we cannot call our seltzer a health drink because we cannot call our seltzer a health drink. Pretty meta. We are also not allowed to tell people it only has 90 calories. Even though it has.”
The tweet since appears to have been removed.
In response, the ASA told the BBC:
“We’re aware of Mr Watt’s comments on social media.
“The ad rules are clear: you can’t make health claims for alcoholic beverages, and that still stands.”
The Scottish brewer was also recently reported to the ASA over the valuation of a “solid gold” can of its lager that it claimed was worth £15,000.
The watchdog is still investigating the claims, though BrewDog has said it stands by the valuation of the can, despite it reportedly being made mostly from brass.