UK: The first advertisement to fall foul of rules banning links between beer and sexual success

A British beer advertisement has become the first to fall foul of rules banning links between alcohol and sexual success, according to Reuters’ statement from January 11. The Young's Bitter billboard poster featured a man with a ram's head - the brewery's symbol - standing by a swimming pool surrounded by attentive women in bikinis.

“Young's advertisement should be withdrawn.” The other depicted the same figure dressed in a suit in a gentleman's club. Both featured the slogan: "This is a Ram's world." One complainant argued the advertisements depicted the ram as the centre of attention and, therefore, implied social and sexual success and enhanced attractiveness.

The new rules, introduced against a backdrop of rising consumption of alcohol by young people, came into effect last October. An ASA spokesman said the decision should help other drinks makers avoid falling foul of the new rules. "It does serve as a useful kind of benchmark for the rest of the sector because it all affects how they plan their campaigns in future," the spokesman said.

Young's argued that the idea of a ram in the depicted situations was "so preposterous" that it made the scenarios unreal. They denied the adverts linked beer with sexual or social success.

13 January, 2006