Beer brand XXXX Gold acts over beach cricket claims
Beer brand XXXX Gold has this afternoon said it is now investigating whether the organisers of its Beach Cricket event inadvertently breached the rules on marketing to children.
As Mumbrella reported earlier today, blogger Nathan Bush pointed out that prizes of XXXX Gold branded equipment were given to children taking part in competitions at the weekend’s beach cricket event. This appeared to be a breach of the Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code, which states that “prizes given away in promotions associated with alcohol beverage companies will only be awarded to winners who are over the legal drinking age”.
This afternoon, Lauren O’Neil, corporate affairs executive for XXXX Gold’s parent company Lion Nathan, told Mumbrella: “We take responsible marketing and promotion extremely seriously, which is why we’re currently investigating this with the organisers – it may be that there’s a been a bit of confusion of whether this informal and ad hoc half time activity constitutes a ‘competition’ or ‘giveaway’ under the ABAC.”
She added: “That said, I have reinforced these guidelines today with the event organisers.”
The Advertising Standards Bureau oversees the code of conduct, but only acts if it receives a complaint. Earlier today CEO Fiona Jolly told Mumbrella there had not been any.
O’Neil also told Mumbrella: “The event is targeted at the XXXX Gold market – 25-45 year olds who love the outdoors and the good life, and the clear majority of the audience both at the event on watching the broadcast are over age of 18. However, we recognise the appeal of the players and the game may also mean that parents may choose to bring their families, which is why we put in place various measures to ensure the event is conducted in a responsible manner. It’s also worth noting, should adults choose to bring children to the events it is the responsibility of the accompanying adult to supervise the child in their care.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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