Conor McGregor’s Forged stout and a gambling Santa fall foul of advertising standards

A number of advertisements and social media posts were found to be in breach of the Advertising Standards Authority Code recently after complaints were made about their content, the claims made or other grounds.

Forged Irish Stout Distribution removed an advertisement shared to Instagram which showed a group of female models wearing “cropped tops and high-leg hotpants” drinking pints of the stout and posing around both a vehicle and a person dressed as a life-sized model of a Forged Stout can.

A complaint to the ASAI claimed the ad contained sexualised content.

It was upheld, with the ASAI committee noting the “significant emphasis through the use of camera angles, on the the female models’ cleavage and bottoms”.

It found the way the models were shown was “sexually suggestive” and at times objectifying, adding that they considered it “an irresponsible manner in which to depict women”.

A poster showing Santa Claus at a slot machine in a casino also fell short of advertising standards, with the ASAI finding the ad could be deemed to be targeted towards children as it features a character of particular appeal to them.

It also acknowledged that Jesters Casino removed the ad once made aware of the complaints.

The ASAI also recently reminded advertisers to make sure disclaimers and responsibility messages around alcohol are clear following a complaint received about a Centra ad which told consumers to “enjoy alcohol sensibly”.

The complaint argued the radio ad stated the disclaimer too fast, while another made about a post featuring cocktails from The Newpark Hotel said it did not include the responsibility message for alcohol advertising.

Two complaints against the website MoveHome.ie were upheld, with one advert claiming a house in the Glasnevin area was a 28-minute walk from Dublin city centre.

A complainant argued that if the Spire on O’Connell Street was used for reference, it was a 50-minute walk from the house to the city centre at minimum.

The ASAI also upheld a complaint made against an ad for a commercial property by Bourke Builders when it found the advertised premises were not yet built.

Other complaints around the marketing of discount codes for a pair of jeans by website Zalando, an advertisement for a school which claimed to have “Ireland’s Best Teachers” and an ad which claimed the AA offered “unlimited” windscreen cover were also upheld.

There were also multiple complaints made relating to advertisements and social media posts about milk. One post, shared by Bord Bia, was ruled as “misleading” by the ASAI.

While the committee noted the steps taken by Irish dairy farmers to be more sustainable, the wording of a tweet had included an absolute claim to be “sustainable” without a qualification or evidence to show that it was, the committee ruled.

A complaint about an ad by the National Dairy Council was also upheld, with the ASAI noting that there was an absence of evidence to the absolute claim that milk was “sustainably produced”.