Five Pernod Ricard ads on Chivas Regal Whisky UK’s Instagram page have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for featuring under 25s.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code requires that ads for alcoholic drinks should not show people who are or appear to be under 25 years old in a ‘significant role’.
In the ads, Bisola Otun (21 years of age) interviews a raft of musicians about their climb to success, with one of them being music artist Santino Le Saint who is confirmed to be below the age of 25.
The clips are also interspersed with clips of young people in a music club setting, holding bottles of Chivas Regal whisky and drinking from branded Chivas cups.
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Pernod Ricard responded to the advertising watchdog’s investigation by admitting that the interviewer Otun and Santino Le Saint were in fact under-age.
The alcohol group said their “standard practice was to have contracts in place with the agency responsible for a campaign which specifically stated that no one under 25 should be featured prominently, but on this occasion that was not adhered to.”
One of the five ads was also criticised by the ASA for implying that alcohol can enhance mental or physical capabilities, like contributing to professional or sporting achievements.
The promotion includes the line “it’s truly the original luxury whisky for ultimate success”.
While the phrase was intended by Pernod Ricard to position celebrating the success of others, the ad authority found it “further reinforced the implication that drinking the whisky could contribute to achieving success.”
The ASA concluded: “The ads must not appear again in the forms complained of. We told Pernod Ricard UK and Chivas Brothers International to ensure that future ads for alcoholic drinks did not show people who were under 25 years of age in a significant role and did not irresponsibly imply alcohol could contribute to professional achievements.”
