A BrewDog beer advert has been banned by the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) for “misleading” claims. The fruity beer was advertised by the company as being one of people’s five portions of fruit and vegetables per a day. An email sent out by the company’s marketing team back in July had the header “one of your five a day” and read: “Summer is well and truly here. Quench your thirst while soaking up the sun (or rain) with our fruit laden favourites. From Pineapple Punch to our limited edition Hazy Jane Passionfruit, we’ve got all your fruit needs covered!” The beers named on the email included ‘Lost in Guava’, ‘Pineapple Punch’ and ‘Lost in Lychee and Lime’. The complaint against this was that the advert was “misleading”. In response to the judgement by the ASA, BrewDog plc “acknowledged that the advertised beers did not count towards a consumer’s five a day. However, the company believed that recipients would “generally understand” that alcoholic beverages were not equivalent to portions of fruit or vegetables. This was according to ASA. The company argued that the advert, which was contained within an email, was sent to customers already signed up to their mailing list and who would have been aware of their tongue in cheek approach to advertising. The ruling comes just weeks after BrewDog announced themselves as ‘anti-sponsors’ of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by donating proceeds from one of their beers to human rights charities. A BrewDog spokesman said: "We respect the Advertising Standards Authority’s decision and are happy to confirm that beer is not a fruit or a vegetable. We hope that sorts it out.”
