Belgium: InBev unhappy with Stella advert ban

InBev is "disappointed" with the ban placed on one of its Stella adverts but added that it was "never its intention to mislead", The Publican reported September 20.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that the brewer's use of the line "a family dedicated to brewing for six centuries" couldn¹t be substantiated.

It ruled that the majority of consumers would assume this meant that the beer had been brewed by one family over 600 years.

A spokesman for InBev, which owns the Stella brand, said in a statement: "It was never our intention to mislead people into thinking that one family was responsible for brewing Stella Artois and our other beers.

"The advertisement aimed to emphasize a continuity of tradition and care that is found in the Artois family of beers." The line was used once in a national newspaper wraparound advertisement in November 2006 and InBev said it wouldn¹t be using it again.

InBev said it had intended to use a similar claim "One family, three beers, six centuries" for the Artois family of beers in the future. But the ASA ruled that this would also be "problematic" and has told InBev not to use it.

The same day, the ASA ruled that a Miller Genuine Draft beer advert featuring a roller-skating stuntman appealed "strongly" to under-18s and therefore breached advertising rules.

The ASA told Miller Brands (UK) not to repeat the ad, although the brewer had by then already withdrawn it from broadcast.

21 September, 2007