Diageo hit by second ASA ruling for Captain Morgan ads
Diageo has come under fire for its Captain Morgan advertising for a second time after a Facebook ad was banned following a complaint by the Youth Alcohol Advertising Council (YAAC).
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which earlier this year banned a TV spot by the rum brand for linking alcohol with “daring and toughness”, has banned a picture posted on Captain Morgan’s Facebook page that it said implied alcohol could help “overcome boredom”.
The picture showed the pirate Captain Morgan raising a glass and cheering whilst surrounded by his crew. Text at top of the image stated "Wednesday. I’m declaring war on mid-week boredom”.
The YAAC hit out at the ad and called it irresponsible for stating that alcohol could help to beat boredom.
Diageo said the rationale behind the ad was to encourage consumers to “take a break from their normal weekday routine” and spend time with friends rather than wait for the weekend.
The drinks maker also highlighted that the ad was one of a series of posts during the course of the week, which included two responsible drinking posts.
Facebook stated that the ad did not violate any of their internal policies and was appropriately age-gated.
The ASA however said that most consumers viewing the image and text together, particularly in the context of the Captain Morgan Facebook page, would interpret the ad to mean that the Captain was alleviating his boredom by drinking the alcohol with friends.
Because of that, the ASA told Diageo the ad must not appear again in its current form and warned the drinks giant not state or imply that alcohol was capable of changing mood.