The UK’s advertising self-regulator is in favour of the distribution of alcohol ads it banned, Alcohol Review was told, after millions were exposed to a banned ad this week.
“We think an ad being used in media reports for illustrative purposes is helpful and in the public interest in providing context for the reader or viewer to find out more about our decision,” the ASA said.
A story on a banned ad from Brewdog first appeared on the PA newswire and was picked up by the BBC, Daily Mail, Scottish TV, various regional newspapers, as well as the marketing, advertising and food trade press. Together their potential reach was in the millions.
“It is not our role to advise media on how they report on our decisions,” the ASA said when asked if its decisions should be reported in a way which does not provide free exposure to an ad it had ruled against. It says viewers and readers “sought out” such ad exposure.
The ASA said that being reported to have broken the advertising rules deters companies from doing it again. Brewdog has yet to get the message. It had six ASA rulings go against it in the last five years. Rival giants like AB Inbev, Carlberg, Diageo and Heineken had one or none at all.
Critics say reporting on banned ads is a big win for Brewdog, with the brand partly defined by its penchant for rule-breaking and ad illustrations used in the reporting provide it with advertising impacts indistinguishable from those of a paid ad.
Meanwhile editors and algorithms choose which stories an audience sees, not the audience members themselves. ■