The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two social media posts from Lipton Iced Tea.
The posts, which were seen on TikTok and Instagram on 18 March 2025, were investigated by the regulator after complainants questioned whether it was misleading, due to the fact it led them to believe the peach flavour was being discontinued.
The ads showed an image of a can of Peach Lipton Ice Tea with white wings attached. Text on the ad read: “Rest in Peach You may have heard that our iconic Peach Lipton Ice Tea flavour is getting discontinued. We know – it hurts (sorry if we’ve ruined your go-to afternoon chill bev). But don’t worry, the rest of your faves are still here to keep you refreshed. And who knows? Maybe one day, Peach will make a legendary comeback. We appreciate your understanding during this period of adjustment and apologise for any inconvenience caused. #RIPeach”.
A caption in the post said: “Who’s joining my peach support group? #RIPeach #liptonicetea”.
PepsiCo International, Lipton Tea’s parent company, responded to the ASA’s investigation. It said that the campaign was intended as a “light-hearted” April Fool’s joke that wasn’t to be taken seriously.
It added that it thought customers would understand the ad to be a joke as the tone of the ad was playful and designed to convey humour through messaging such as “Rest in Peach”.
The firm highlighted that a lot of its followers understood that the marketing drive was a joke, leaving comments such as “This Better Be a Joke”.
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However, after receiving some negative feedback, Lipton Ice Tea revealed the stunt was an April Fool’s prank on 19 March 2025. It said it would learn from the backlash and clearly signpost any future campaigns to avoid misinterpretation.
The watchdog found that claims in the ad, such as “our iconic Peach Lipton Ice Tea flavour is getting discontinued” and “We […] apologise [sic] for any inconvenience caused”, would be understood by consumers to mean the drink was being discontinued.
The ASA said: “Given the timing of the ads and the lack of clear context to explain or suggest that the ads were a joke, we considered they gave the overall impression that the product was being discontinued when that was not the case, which was likely to affect consumers’ decisions in relation to whether, and in what quantities, to purchase the product.”
It therefore ruled that the campaign was misleading, having breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising).
The watchdog told Lipton Ice Tea that the ads must not appear again in their current form and to ensure its future advertisements didn’t insinuate its products were being discontinued if that was not the case.
