Alcohol ads get the boot
Social media campaigns at fault
INFLUENCERS and superstars aren’t immune to alcohol advertising standards, the country’s watchdog has warned amid a rise in complaints related to social media posts.
The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code adjudication panel says the burgeoning number of independent brewers and distillers on the Gold Coast – and the rise of social media – is catching out newbies to the industry.
Last year 75 per cent of upheld complaints related to social media activity, a handful of which came from the Gold Coast.
A lighthearted video of a shoey caught out Broadbeach beer brand “Bloke in a Bar”, founded this year by Denan Kemp.
The former NRL player’s company was this month chastised by the panel over
the Instagram post, which featured former Sharks player Luke Lewis drinking from a shoe.
While the company said only “1.5 mouthfuls of beer were poured into the shoe”, the ABAC panel found there was not enough context to show the beer was not rapidly or excessively consumed. The post was then removed.
Mr Kemp told the Bulletin they worked hard to know the standard and were happy to work with the ABAC panel.
“We are always aware of the code and don’t want to be seen as someone doing anything negative when it comes to advertising with alcohol,” he said. “I don’t think the rules are widely known by people outside of the industry, so some people do get caught out.
“In this instance it was meant to be a celebration but more context was needed.”
Other recent cases include Cocktails nightclub, which was notably caught out for sending out subject lines in emails such as: “HoHo-Holy Sh**t I’m drunk” and “Alcohol is not in my Vodkabulary”.
The Bucha of Byron was also found to be in the wrong when it released Dirty Buch, a premix alcoholic kombucha on its Instagram account without age restrictions.
Harry Jenkins AO, the independent chair of ABAC, said the code had to keep up with the online world.
“Most companies are happy to work through any complaints, and we also have a pre-approval process if things need to be checked,” Mr Jenkins said.
“We don’t want to make their life more difficult than it already is.”
“People claim it’s a nanny state and then we get told we go to easy, our job is about finding that balance.”