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Buzz kill

By Daniel Watt

From a letter sent in May to the manufacturers of Lambrini, a pear-flavored “semi-sparkling party drink,” by Daniel Watt of the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority's Copy Advice Team, regarding three proposed advertisements. Because of prior violations of alcohol-advertising regulations, Lambrini's manufacturer, Halewood International, is required to submit proposed advertisements to the ASA for approval.

PADDLING POOL

I should point out that the pool should not be too deep, as this may be seen as encouraging unsafe behavior. In its current form, the pool does look quite deep, and therefore it should probably be a little shallower in the final.

BEACH

We consider that the use of the male doll in the ad may be seen as affiliating the product with socially irresponsible or “ladette” behavior. We do not think that the inflatable man would cause offense. We agree that it does not look like a sex toy.

FAIRGROUND

In its current form, we consider that the ad is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls. If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed. We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive—i.e., overweight, middle-aged, balding, etc.

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SEE ALSO: Alcoholic beverages; Standards

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