An advert for beer company BrewDog has been banned over a “tongue-in-cheek” claim that its fruit-flavoured beers constitute “one of your five a day”.
An advertising email, dated 20 July, featured the subject heading “One of your five a day”, and advertised beers with names that included Lost In Guava, Pineapple Punch, and Lost In Lychee & Lime.
A recipient complained that the five-a-day claim was misleading, The Guardian reported.
Upholding the complaint, the Advertising Standards Authority said: "The ASA acknowledged that the subject heading 'One of your five a day' might be interpreted by some consumers as a humorous nod to the fruit-flavoured beers featured in the body of the email.
"However, because the claim referred to well-known government advice on health and wellbeing, we considered that, in general, consumers would not expect advertisers to include such claims unless the advertised product was recognised as meeting the requirements of that advice."
In its ruling, the watchdog said that the ad must not appear again in its current form.
BrewDog, which is based in Scotland, agreed the advertised beers did not count towards a consumer's five a day.
However, it said it believed recipients would generally understand that alcoholic beverages are not equivalent to portions of fruit or vegetables.
The firm said the email was only sent to existing customers, who were likely to be aware of BrewDog's "playful" marketing style, and that they would see the remark as "tongue-in-cheek".
A BrewDog spokesman said: "We respect the ASA's decision and are happy to confirm that beer is not a fruit or a vegetable."
It was reported last week that BrewDog had lost its status as a B Corp – which offers certification of a company’s ethical commitment to the environment, community and staff – less than two years after joining the scheme.
