Brewdog ad banned for implying alcohol could help boredom

A Brewdog advert has been prohibited for suggesting that alcohol could help tackle boredom, loneliness or disappointment.

The advertisement for the brewery's Wingman beer, which appeared in May, carried the headline: "Brewdog. Always Got Your Back", and continued underneath: "Some things in life go AWOL – WiFi fails, the weather turns hostile, and your buddy's 'five minutes' turns into a full-scale delay. But Wingman? Wingman stands firm. Always on station, always mission-ready, always got your back. Because every great operation deserves a great Wingman."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received one complaint that the ad implied that alcohol was a remedy for disappointment, suffering and isolation. Brewdog argued the advertisement did not suggest that the beer provided comfort, relief or escape from any form of distress, and positioned the product as being of reliable quality rather than a remedy or coping mechanism.

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The company also rejected claims that the advert suggested the beer had any therapeutic or mood-altering effects or that the advertisement implied alcohol was essential or a priority in life. The ASA recognised that the advertisement had an air force theme, including the product's name, references to "always on station, always mission-ready", and some of the imagery, which included a bird wearing a flying jacket, helmet and goggles.

The watchdog acknowledged Brewdog's assertions that the advert positioned Wingman Session IPA as being of dependable quality, and recognised that the situations depicted in the commercial – wifi failures, unexpected poor weather and a mate turning up late – were ordinary and everyday irritations.

It stated: "However, we considered that those scenarios, which would likely result in a person having to wait for an outcome outside of their control and having their day interrupted in a negative way, were likely to result in people feeling frustrated and bored, potentially lonely and would be likely to be viewed as problematic.

"We considered that although the ad used metaphorical language to evoke Wingman's reliability, consistency and a sense of camaraderie, the scenarios presented were real-life problems that were likely to impact people in a negative way and the implication was that Wingman was a solution to overcoming those problems that were likely to result in boredom, frustration and potentially loneliness.

"For those reasons, we considered the ad implied that drinking alcohol could overcome boredom, loneliness or other problems and concluded it breached the code."

The ASA decreed that the advert must not appear again, stating: "We told Brewdog to ensure their future ads did not imply that drinking alcohol could overcome boredom, loneliness or other problems."

A representative for Brewdog said: "We acknowledge the ASA's ruling on our recent Wingman advert and we are disappointed with the outcome, which we believe does not reflect the spirit or intent behind the campaign. That said, we won't be running the ad again."