Vuyo's success not from beer - ASA
2011-09-15 22:28
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Johannesburg
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Johannesburg - In a recent Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling, the ASA Directorate considered an advertisement for beer in which Vuyo, a young successful entrepreneur, created a new musical instrument called the Vuyozela.
He then celebrates his success by drinking a Hansa Pilsner beer.
The ASA was tasked on ruling whether the advertisement created the impression that the consumption of alcoholic beverages was essential to business or social success, or that refusal to consume alcohol was a sign of weakness.
According to Natasha Wright and Associate at Adams & Adams - the law firm acting for South African Breweries - the ruling was necessitated by a consumer who complained that the advertisement was deceptive and gave the impression that Vuyo's genius and insight, which led to the creation of the Vuyozela, stemmed from his consumption of Hansa Pilsner beer.
"The consumer also complained that the advertisement suggests to young people that the consumption of alcohol, specifically Hansa Pilsner, leads to inspiration and worldwide success."
However, Adams & Adams said the underlying theme of the advertisement was that Vuyo, like Hansa Pilsner, had a "special ingredient" that set Vuyo and Hansa Pilsner apart from the rest.
"Ultimately," says Wright, "the advertisement creates an analogy between Vuyo's special and inherent inventive ingredient which enables him to see and grasp opportunities and the special ingredients in Hansa Pilsner that make it, like Vuyo, 'refreshingly different'."
The ASA Directorate ruled that the advertisement did not glorify Vuyo's drinking, nor that his success was a by-product of his drinking Hansa Pilsner beer.
The underlying theme of the advertisement was to show what a creative mind Vuyo had and how he used this creative mind to create an instrument that took the world by storm.
Wright said the images of Hansa Pilsner beer that were seen throughout the advertisement were deemed to only indicate Vuyo's preference in beer and did not hint that Vuyo's success stemmed from Hansa Pilsner beer.
"The ASA agreed that the advertisement does create an analogy but does not suggest that the beer gives rise to success. The consumer complaint was dismissed."
