John
04-15-2009, 03:45 PM
The advertising watchdog has banned a poster ad for cheekily suggesting beer could increase a shy young man's confidence with women, it said on Wednesday.
The poster showed a nervous looking man next to a large-bottomed woman in a new figure-hugging dress, with the slogan "Take Courage my friend" -- a slogan used by makers of Courage beer in the past.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had received three complaints from people saying the ad implied beer could give the man confidence either to make negative comments about the woman, or to take advantage of her.
But brewer Wells and Young's, which makes Courage, said the poster featured a situation many men could relate to, and noted that the slogan echoed previous ad campaigns from the 1950s to the 1980s.
"We are very surprised by the ASA's decision regarding our Courage advertisement," said its marketing director Chris Lewis.
"The advert depicts a very common situation which our target demographic would relate to and there is certainly no indication that our 'hero' in the advert would say anything 'negative' to his partner or 'take advantage of her'.
"Our intention through this advertising is to portray humorous everyday occurrences which Courage drinkers can relate to."
The ASA said that, while it understood the humorous intention of the advert, it breached advertising guidelines "by suggesting that the beer could increase confidence".
But said Lewis: "Every man with some life experience has been in the situation where they have been asked the infamous line: 'Does my bum look big in this?' And as every man in Britain knows, the correct response is 'No!'
"It is because this is universally understood that we did not put these words on the poster."
The poster showed a nervous looking man next to a large-bottomed woman in a new figure-hugging dress, with the slogan "Take Courage my friend" -- a slogan used by makers of Courage beer in the past.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had received three complaints from people saying the ad implied beer could give the man confidence either to make negative comments about the woman, or to take advantage of her.
But brewer Wells and Young's, which makes Courage, said the poster featured a situation many men could relate to, and noted that the slogan echoed previous ad campaigns from the 1950s to the 1980s.
"We are very surprised by the ASA's decision regarding our Courage advertisement," said its marketing director Chris Lewis.
"The advert depicts a very common situation which our target demographic would relate to and there is certainly no indication that our 'hero' in the advert would say anything 'negative' to his partner or 'take advantage of her'.
"Our intention through this advertising is to portray humorous everyday occurrences which Courage drinkers can relate to."
The ASA said that, while it understood the humorous intention of the advert, it breached advertising guidelines "by suggesting that the beer could increase confidence".
But said Lewis: "Every man with some life experience has been in the situation where they have been asked the infamous line: 'Does my bum look big in this?' And as every man in Britain knows, the correct response is 'No!'
"It is because this is universally understood that we did not put these words on the poster."