Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for ad on Facebook for LevelTap, a gaming company, seen on 6 December 2023, featured an image of a man driving in a racing simulator. Text on the image stated “DRINK DRIVER PACKAGE. £50PP. 30MIN WELCOME BEER / PROSECCO + INTRO” and “Revamp your party experience!”. A caption on the post stated “Bored of the same old parties? We’ve got party packages for everyone! Book now – don’t miss out”.
Issue
Two complainants, who believed the ad trivialised and encouraged drink driving, challenged whether it:
1. linked alcohol with an activity in which drinking would be unsafe or unwise; and
2. was irresponsible.
Response
1. & 2. Strafe Esports Ltd t/a LevelTap said it was not their intention to trivialise or encourage drink driving. They believed the ad clearly promoted a racing simulator gaming package, which involved customers playing a video game whilst enjoying food and alcoholic drinks. They said it was never their intention to promote or encourage drink driving.
However, they acknowledged the phrase “drink driver package” could have been interpreted by some consumers as trivialising or encouraging drink driving. They said they had amended the ad by replacing the phrase “drink driver package” with the phrase “tipsy racer package”, which they believed made it clear the ad referred to a racing simulator game.
Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must be socially responsible and must not link alcohol with activities or locations in which drinking would be unsafe or unwise, including driving.
The ad featured an image of a person driving a vehicle which resembled a Formula One car, alongside text which stated “drink driver package”. There were also references to beer and prosecco. Although further text stated the service on offer was a “grand prix”, and the driver was wearing a headset, there was no additional information to instantly clarify whether that game involved virtual or real driving. Whilst we understood the vehicle was a racing simulator game and therefore not real-life driving, we considered there was nothing in the ad which made it immediately clear that it was a videogame. We therefore considered there was a clear link in the ad between alcohol and driving, which was an activity in which drinking was unsafe or unwise.
We also considered the phrases “bored of the same old parties” and “revamp your party experience”, within the context of an ad which referred to “drink driving” without making it explicitly clear the product was a video game, trivialised and encouraged drink driving and was therefore irresponsible.
We welcomed LevelTap’s willingness to amend the ad. However, we considered replacing the phrase “drink driver package” with “tipsy racer package” did not sufficiently change the messaging of the ad. In addition to continuing to link alcohol with driving, it also linked alcohol with racing, which was associated with dangerously high speeds. The reference to “tipsy” also suggested that drivers would be feeling the effects of the alcohol and would be mildly drunk whilst driving. We considered that the amended ad therefore breached the Code by linking alcohol to driving and was irresponsible by making light of driving while mildly intoxicated from drinking alcohol.
For those reasons, we concluded the ad linked alcohol with an activity in which drinking would be unsafe or unwise, trivialised and encouraged drink driving and was therefore irresponsible and breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.1 and 18.12 (Alcohol).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Strafe Esports Ltd t/a LevelTap to ensure their future ads were not irresponsible, for example, by linking alcohol with driving or with activities or locations in which drinking would be unsafe or by trivialising or encouraging drink driving.
