An out-of-home advert by Scottish brewery BrewDog has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for implying that alcohol can help overcome boredom, frustration or loneliness.

Published in May this year, the poster read: “BREWDOG. ALWAYS GOT YOUR BACK”. Text underneath stated, “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”.

A complainant challenged whether the poster set a negative precedent by suggesting that alcohol could be used to cure disappointment, suffering and isolation.

Disputing the ruling, a BrewDog spokesperson said that the company believed its ad “did not suggest that alcohol was a solution to any form of personal, emotional or psychological difficulty.

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Adding: “The scenarios referenced in the ad – WiFi outages, bad weather and a friend running late – were clearly framed as mundane, everyday annoyances and not substantive problems requiring resolution.”

Agreeing with the complainant, the regulator ruled that the advert must not appear again in the form complained of, and that BrewDog should ensure their future ads did not imply that drinking alcohol could overcome boredom, loneliness or other problems.

An ASA spokesperson said: “We acknowledged that the scenarios presented in the ad – WiFi outages, unexpected bad weather and a friend running late – were mundane and everyday annoyances.

“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.”