ASA Adjudication on Pernod Ricard UK Ltd
Pernod Ricard UK Ltd
Central House
3 Lampton Road
Hounslow
Middlesex
TW3 1HY
Date:
4 July 2012
Media:
Poster
Sector:
Alcohol
Number of complaints:
1
Agency:
EURO RSGC
Complaint Ref:
A12-185488
Ad
A poster for Chivas Regal blended Scotch whisky stated "ANNUAL BONUS: HAVING MORE FRIENDS THAN YOU HAD LAST YEAR". The ad featured a bottle of Chivas Regal whisky and underneath, text stated "CHIVAS. LIVE WITH CHIVALRY".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad implied that alcohol could enhance popularity.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
Pernod Ricard said their Chivas Regal campaign, "LIVE WITH CHIVALRY", had been running since Autumn 2008 and its intention was to remind Chivas Regal drinkers there were elements of living one's life besides personal advancement such as enjoying friends' company or celebrating the success of others.
Pernod Ricard said that the poster was one of a series of eight aimed at the financial community in the City of the London and its theme was to take common terms used by them every day and recast them with alternative definitions. All the posters appeared side by side along a moving walkway on the Underground. The alternative definitions of the other posters were: "Assets: They're always best when they're shared"; "Trading: remember what one good turn leads to"; "Dividends: doing the right thing always pays them"; "Share options: not keeping it all to yourself"; "Futures: what we do today will have consequences tomorrow"; "Trust: the most important commodity of all"; and "Investments: you'll always get a return on integrity".
Pernod Ricard believed that most consumers seeing the posters would appreciate and understand their message that financial success was not the "be-all and end-all of life". Because the posters appeared side by side and were not seen in isolation, they believed their cumulative message would have been clear.
Assessment
Not Upheld
The ASA noted that the poster's location had been carefully targeted towards the financial sector, that it was one in a series aimed at encouraging people to think beyond financial success and to appreciate and value personal relationships and it appeared side by side with the other posters in the campaign. We were concerned that had the poster appeared in isolation, without the benefit of the context of the campaign, it may have been seen to link alcohol with having more friends and therefore, could imply that alcohol enhanced popularity. However, because the poster was seen as one of a series, one after the other, we considered its intended context would be clear to consumers. We considered the phrase "Annual bonus: having more friends than you had last year" encouraged consumers to change their perception of what an "annual bonus" meant to them and to recognise those additional friends as a bonus. We concluded that while the poster also featured a bottle of Chivas Regal, a Scotch whisky, it did not imply that alcohol could enhance popularity.
We investigated the poster under CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.2 (Alcohol) but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
