Rapper's drinks brand's adverts banned for encouraging "excessive drinking" amongst young people
Adverts from rum drinks brand Litty Liquor have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after they featured someone who looked under 25.
The three Instagram posts, published in December 2022, received one complaint. ASA found Litty Liquor to be in breach of advertising rules because the posts featured someone who was, or seemed to be, under 25, and encouraged excessive and irresponsible consumption of alcohol.
Litty Liquor was set up by Brighton rapper, and self-proclaimed "avid rum drinker", ArrDee, who is aged 20.
The first Instagram post, published on 9 December 2022, featured a photo of ArrDee in a distillery, surrounded by bottles of Litty Liquor's spiced rum product, 4Realli.
The second Instagram post, published on 14 December 2022, featured a photo of ArrDee in front of a tower of 4Realli bottles, while the third, published on 15 December 2022, featured a video of ArrDee in an empty nightclub, trying and rejecting two unidentified brands of rum. ArrDee was then shown in a distillery, mixing liquids, making notes, and testing the results until he was happy. The video then cut to a display of 4Realli bottles, before cutting back to the nightclub with ArrDee dancing away from the camera to join friends on the dancefloor. The final scene showed a box of Litty Liquor's product, along with the on-screen text "#GETLIT".
In responding to ASA's requests that the ads be taken down and must not appear again, Litty Liquor, also responding on behalf of ArrDee, said that they had been unaware of the requirements of the CAP Code. CAP Code is the rule book for non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing communications.
Litty Liquor confirmed that ArrDee was under 25 years of age at the time the ads were seen and apologised for his presence in the posts.
In addition, Litty Liquor and ArrDee said that they understood how the phrase "#GETLIT" could have been perceived as promoting excessive and irresponsible alcohol consumption and that they had not intended to use the phrase in a way which encouraged excessive drinking.
The ASA told Litty Liquor to ensure that its future marketing materials did not feature someone who was, or seemed to be, under 25 years of age and that they did not encourage excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol.
Litty Liquor and ArrDee have removed the ads, and said they would be reviewing their advertising policies and procedures in order to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
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