The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has investigated two Heineken ads after complaints were made that the promotions may have appealed to people under the age of 18.
An out-of-home (OOH) poster and a paid-for ad on Reddit both featured futuristic-style computer-generated characters holding cans of Heineken beer out toward the viewer.
Accompanying text stated: “NEW Heineken Silver Extra Fresh for real … EXTRA REFRESHING TASTE”.
Heineken responded to the claims that the ads appealed to minors by referencing CAP’s AdviceOnline entry on ‘Alcohol: Targeting and Appeal to Under 18s’. The brand highlighted the fact that the characters were ‘entirely fictional’, had no latent appeal, and that they were not present on any digital platform or in any gaming format.
The beer firm also pointed out that the characters were adults and that the ads did not play into typical traits or insecurities of young people and that there was no suggestion of achieving social acceptance by consuming the product.
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Media owner Global and Reddit also claimed that they had received no complaints about the ads, but nevertheless removed both ads upon ASA investigation.
The advertising watchdog responded to the complaints by noting that both characters had been created specifically for Heineken’s ad campaign and were not based on any existing characters that may appeal to children who play video games.
“Both were depicted wearing stylised clothing, and the female character’s armour-like clothing and stylised hair, in particular, were reminiscent of the sort of stylisation seen in gaming avatars,” the ASA added.
“However, we considered the stylisation in itself did not mean that the characters, or the ads, would have greater appeal to under-18s than to over-18s.”
The ASA ultimately decided that the ads did not breach the advertising codes as they were unlikely to appeal particularly to under-18s.
