Background
Summary of Council decision:
Seven issues were investigated, of which six were Upheld and one was Not upheld.
Ad description
Pages on Facebook and Twitter, the website www.tequilauk.com and three videos on Youtube promoted the "Tequila" club night in Leeds:
a. A photo album entitled "Tequila - Freshers Violation 3 October 2013" on Tequila UK's Facebook page contained images taken at a club night, including several of young people holding or drinking alcohol. A sequence of five photos showed a young woman lying on her back with whipped cream and shot glasses on her breasts. Alcohol was poured into the glasses, and a subsequent image showed her sitting up beside a young man who was making a licking motion in the direction of her breast.
b. Tequila UK's Twitter page stated, as the description of the account, "Tequila @ Mezz club - dedicated to oral pleasure ... come and swallow". Six photos were visible on the left of the page; pictures included people dancing together in groups. One man shown was topless and another was pouring liquid directly into his mouth from a bottle. A third image appeared to show someone grabbing their crotch.
c. The home page of the website www.tequilauk.com featured scrolling images across the top of the page. One showed the torso of a woman wearing a cropped top. Whipped cream and filled shot glasses were placed on her stomach and cleavage and in her mouth. Text stated "WELCOME TO TEQUILA - COME AND SWALLOW". The next image showed a man lifting his shirt and a woman licking his chest. Text stated "A NOTORIOUS DEN OF HEDONISM AND DEBAUCHERY". The third image was a crowd scene of people dancing in a club, beneath a sign that read "TEQUILA". Text stated "DEDICATED TO ORAL PLEASURE FOR OVER 21 YEARS". The fourth image showed a young topless man lying on his back, with whipped cream smeared across his body. Empty shot glasses had been placed on his abdomen and in his mouth, and a man standing next to him appeared to be about to fill the glasses from a bottle of spirits he held in his hand.
Text at the bottom of the page stated "TEQUILA is a spirit fuelled den of hedonism and debauchery founded over two decades ago by friends forming a Tequila Appreciation society at Leeds University".
d. A page on the website www.tequilauk.com promoted the event "FRESHERS VIOLATION". Text stated "FU*K ME I'M A FRESHER! Introducing pole dancers, tequila cards, tequila cage and more ... Lie on the bar, open your mouths and let someone pour you some TEQUILA - things are gonna get dirrrty - lets[sic] clean these freshers up!!". The page included an image of a topless young woman lying on the floor with her finger in her mouth and her other hand holding her trousers near to her crotch. A sign placed across her chest stated "TAKE ME". On the right of the page was an image of a woman wearing only underwear being touched by another woman stood behind her. A faded-out background image showed a young woman wearing a top that stated "TEQUILA" and drinking from a spirit bottle.
e. Another page on the website www.tequilauk.com promoted the event "TEQUILA CLASSIC". Text stated "TEQUILA Classic brings together over 20 years of cream, baby oil, glitter and, of course, Tequila in one massive explosion of debauchery". The page included an image of a woman whose dress had ridden up around her waist, leaving her buttocks exposed, crouching in front of a man. Foam spurted from the area of the man's crotch. Text written across the image stated "come & swallow". The same image of the woman in her underwear as in ad (d) was shown. The background image was the same as in ad (d) but had been cut off above the woman's jawline.
f., g. and h. Three videos on Tequila UK's Youtube channel, entitled "Tequila Takes on 2013", "Tequila Exam Slam" and "Tequila Slammers Reunion" respectively, contained footage of young people attending Tequila UK club nights. The videos showed the consumption of alcohol, including young people drinking multiple shots and pouring spirits directly into each other's mouths. Women in various states of undress were shown lying on a bar, with whipped cream and shot glasses being placed on their bodies and with other people drinking the alcohol and licking the cream. The footage was interspersed with interview scenes which made frequent reference to alcohol and sex and contained swearing. The videos included partial nudity, predominantly of women, and in some cases featured a soundtrack containing profanities. In one video a man talked about how much he enjoyed seeing a woman on the bar with whipped cream on her body, and with other women licking it off.
Issue
Leeds City Council challenged whether:
1. ads (a) to (g) were irresponsible, offensive and harmful, because they were sexist and promoted misogyny and the objectification of women;
2. ads (b) to (f) and (h) were offensive, because they contained nudity, sexually suggestive language and imagery and profanity;
3. ads (f) to (h) were irresponsible, because they could be viewed by those aged under 18; and
4. ads (f) to (h) were in breach of the Code, because they implied, condoned or encouraged excessive consumption of alcohol and featured alcohol being handled or served irresponsibly.
The ASA challenged whether:
5. ads (a) to (e) were in breach of the Code, because they implied, condoned or encouraged excessive consumption of alcohol and featured alcohol being handled or served irresponsibly;
6. ads (a) to (h) breached the Code, because they linked alcohol with seduction, sexual activity or sexual success and implied that drinking alcohol was a key component of the success of a social event; and
7. ads (a) to (h) breached the Code, because they showed people drinking alcohol or playing a significant role in the ads who appeared be under the age of 25.
Response
1. Sam Welply, t/a Tequila UK strongly disagreed with the view that ads (a) to (g) were sexist or promoted misogyny or the objectification of women. They said the ads did not depict either men or women in a demeaning, exploitative, degrading or humiliating way, but rather contained a mix of images including healthy men and women expressing themselves voluntarily.
2. Tequila UK accepted that some ads contained sexually suggestive language but believed that that was not likely to cause offence. They commented that it was not explicit and was intended to be light-hearted innuendo only. They noted that the videos did not contain full nudity and said they abided by Youtube's publication guidelines. They also said the soundtracks used in ads (f) and (h), some of which contained expletives, were publicly available pop songs played regularly on commercial radio stations at all times of day.
Although Tequila UK did not agree that the ads were likely to cause offence on these grounds, they said they had nevertheless changed the description of their Twitter account in ad (b) to state "Tequila - dedicated to pleasure … come and slam", which they said referred to the act of dancing energetically at a party. They had also removed ads (f), (g) and (h) from Youtube.
3. Tequila UK stated that, whilst the ads may have been viewed by people aged under 18 years, they were not targeted at that age group, and they were not actively marketed on Youtube. They also said age restrictions were imposed by Youtube.
4., 5. & 6. Tequila UK said they had removed or changed the ads. They had amended the title of the photo album in ad (a) to read "Tequila - Freshers 3 October 2013", and had removed all images that appeared to show people drinking alcohol as well as the series of images showing the young woman lying on her back whilst whipped cream and shots were placed on her body. Ad (b) had been amended as outlined at point (2) above. In respect of their website (ads (c), (d) and (e)), Tequila UK said they had added an age verification system to ensure it was only accessed by those aged 18 and over. In addition, they had replaced all images on the home page, and had amended the text to state "Welcome to Tequila - come and slam", "A notorious den of hedonism and fulfilment" and "Dedicated to pleasure for over 21 years". The name of the event listed in ad (d) had been amended to "Freshers Party", the image had been changed and all text had been removed. The description of the event listed in ad (e) had been amended to read "Tequila Classic brings together over 20 years of Tequila in one massive explosion of hedonism". Ads (f), (g) and (h) had been removed from Youtube as outlined at point (2) above.
7. Tequila UK stated that their events were student club nights and as such all photos and videos of the nights would contain images of people under the age of 25. However, they had removed all visible references in the ads to the consumption of alcohol by those aged under 25.
In relation to points (1), (5), (6) and (7), Facebook stated that ad (a) did not violate their advertising guidelines and they had therefore not taken any action to date.
In relation to points (1), (2), (3), (4), (6) and (7), Youtube said they were not responsible for the content of third-party videos on their site and commented that although they had a system in place to enable users to report objectionable content, it was ultimately for the video owner to amend advertising if required to do so by the ASA.
Twitter did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted that a number of women were shown in the ads in states of partial undress, with whipped cream and shots placed on their bodies, and in some cases were seen to derive male attention from that action. For example, in ad (a) where the man pretended to lick the woman's breast and in ad (g) where a man described "loving" seeing "women ... all over each other" as they drank shots placed on another woman's body. We also noted the images in ads (d) and (e), including in particular the pictures of a topless young woman holding a sign stating "TAKE ME" and of a woman crouching in front of a man's crotch accompanied by the text "come & swallow". We considered that the portrayal of women in ads (a) to (g) was at some points distasteful, and acknowledged that some people might view the ads as being sexist and reducing women to the status of objects for male gratification.
We considered, however, that the overall tone of each ad was one of a party atmosphere, and that they gave the impression of young people, both male and female, enjoying a night out. We also noted that the nudity was not exclusively female, and that one ad showed a man with shots lined up along his body. We considered that consumers visiting Tequila UK's website, Facebook, Twitter or Youtube page were likely to be those who had heard about the club night and were interested in finding out more about the events held with a view to attending, and that the ads were unlikely to be seen by that audience as being sexist or promoting misogyny or the objectification of women. We therefore concluded that ads (a) to (g) were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence and were not irresponsible or harmful in their portrayal of women.
On that point, we investigated ads (a) to (g) under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.3
1.3
Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
(Responsible advertising) and
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and offence), but did not find them in breach.
2. Upheld
We noted Tequila UK's comments that the language within the ads was not explicit, but considered that that was not always the case, such as with the text "F*CK ME I'M A FRESHER!" in ad (d). We also considered that the use of the slogan "come and swallow", particularly in ads (c) and (e) where it was accompanied by images of a woman with whipped cream and shots placed on her body and a woman crouching in front of a man's crotch respectively, was sexually explicit and would be likely to cause offence to some. We noted that the ads also featured a variety of other sexual references, partial nudity and, in respect of ads (f) and (h), frequent profanities, including in the soundtracks.
As outlined at point (1) above, we considered that the likely audience for the ads would be people who were interested in finding out more about Tequila UK club nights. We also recognised that they were likely to be predominantly young adults because the promoted events were for students, and that some of the ads' content, and in particular the soundtracks to ads (f) and (h), reflected youth culture. Notwithstanding that fact, we considered that the content of the ads was likely to cause serious offence to some consumers because of the sexually explicit imagery and text, nudity and profanity. We therefore concluded that the ads breached the Code.
On that point, ads (b) to (f) and (h) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule
4.1
4.1
Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule. Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.
The fact that a product is offensive to some people is not grounds for finding a marketing communication in breach of the Code.
(Harm and offence).
3. Upheld
We considered that the likely audience for the ads was young adults who were interested in finding out about the student club nights run by Tequila UK. Notwithstanding the concerns outlined above that the ads were likely to cause serious offence to that group, we considered that the content was particularly unsuitable for young audiences and that Tequila UK should have put measures in place to ensure that it was not visible to children, who were defined under the CAP Code as those aged under 16. We therefore concluded that ads (f) to (h) were in breach of the Code because they could be viewed by those aged under 16.
On that point, ads (f) to (h) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 1.3 Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. (Responsible advertising).
4. Upheld
Ads (f), (g) and (h) contained scenes of people drinking "body shots" off each other's bodies and free pouring of alcohol (mainly spirits) directly from the bottle into people's mouths. We considered that those scenes depicted the handling, serving and consumption of alcohol in an uncontrolled and irresponsible manner and were likely to encourage unwise styles of drinking. We were also concerned by other elements of the ads which implied or condoned the excessive consumption of alcohol. Those included: lyrics used in the soundtrack to ad (f) at the point that people were drinking shots from a woman's body that stated "Hear the beat, now let's hit the floor/Drink it up and then drink some more"; a scene in ad (g) showing a girl staggering to get up from the ground whilst holding a drinks bottle in her mouth; and an interview scene with a clubber who described his approach to the night out as being to "get fucked up, then get fucked" (ad (h)), as well as more general interview scenes which appeared to show the interviewer approving of drunken behaviour. We considered that the ads featured alcohol being handled and served irresponsibly and condoned and encouraged the excessive consumption of alcohol, and therefore concluded that they breached the Code.
On that point, ads (f) to (h) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.1 18.1 Marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable. and 18.1 18.1 Marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable. (Alcohol).
5. Upheld
Ad (a) showed a variety of images of different groups of people, and no one was depicted with more than one drink in their hand or in any other way that explicitly suggested they had consumed, or would be consuming, excessive amounts of alcohol at the event. We considered that consumers would understand that the images had been taken over the course of an evening and for the most part did not condone or encourage the irresponsible handling or drinking of alcohol. However, one sequence of images within ad (a) depicted the use of body shots. As outlined at point (4) above, we considered that that method of serving alcohol was irresponsible and implied a reduced level of control over the rate and amount of consumption.
Body shots also featured in ad (c), paired with text that we considered reinforced the idea of excessive consumption: "COME AND SWALLOW" and "A NOTORIOUS DEN OF HEDONISM AND DEBAUCHERY". Ad (d) included a background image of free pouring and language that we considered also implied excessive consumption: "Lie on the bar, open your mouths and let someone pour you some TEQUILA". Ad (b) contained an image showing a man tipping his head back and pouring liquid from what appeared to be a spirit bottle into his mouth. Although none of the images in ad (e) showed the consumption of alcohol, the text referred to a "massive explosion of debauchery" with Tequila as one of its components. We considered that all of those factors, as well as the company description visible in ads (c), (d) and (e) as "a spirit fuelled den of hedonism and debauchery", implied the excessive consumption of alcohol and concluded that ads (a) to (e) therefore breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a) to (e) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.1 18.1 Marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable. and 18.1 18.1 Marketing communications must be socially responsible and must contain nothing that is likely to lead people to adopt styles of drinking that are unwise. For example, they should not encourage excessive drinking. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable. (Alcohol).
6. Upheld
A number of the ads contained sexually suggestive scenes, including images of people embracing, partial nudity, body shots and interview scenes such as that described at point (4) above, the majority of which prominently featured alcohol. We considered that most of those scenes implied a link between alcohol and seduction, sexual activity or sexual success, and furthermore that the use of the event name "Tequila", either alone or with phrases such as "a spirit fuelled den of hedonism and debauchery" and, because of the clear double meaning therein, "come and swallow" and "dedicated to oral pleasure" in the ads was sufficient to establish that link even in the absence of any images containing alcohol. We considered that the degree of focus throughout the ads on alcohol and drinking resulted in the implication that alcohol was a key component of the success of Tequila UK club nights. We therefore concluded that ads (a) to (h) breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a) to (h) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.3 18.3 Marketing communications must not imply that drinking alcohol is a key component of the success of a personal relationship or social event. The consumption of alcohol may be portrayed as sociable or thirst-quenching. and 18.5 18.5 Marketing communications must neither link alcohol with seduction, sexual activity or sexual success nor imply that alcohol can enhance attractiveness. (Alcohol).
7. Upheld
We acknowledged that attendees of the student club nights hosted by Tequila UK were likely to be young adults. However, the CAP Code stipulated that people shown drinking or playing a significant role in ads that featured or referred to alcoholic drinks must neither be nor seem to be under 25. We considered that all of the ads featured people who seemed to be under the age of 25, and that even when they were not drinking those people were playing a significant role ‒ for example, the image on the right of the page in ads (d) and (e) of the woman in underwear being touched by another woman. We therefore concluded that the ads breached the Code.
On that point, ads (a) to (h) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 18.16 18.16 People shown drinking or playing a significant role must neither be nor seem to be under 25. People under 25 may be shown in marketing communications, for example, in the context of family celebrations, but must be obviously not drinking. (Alcohol).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We recognised the amendments made by Tequila UK to their advertising, but advised them to seek copy advice and to ensure that all necessary changes were made.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
1.3 18.1 18.11 18.15 18.16 18.3 18.5 4.1
