Jimmy Brings and Balter Beer breach ABAC standards in Q2
In the second quarter of 2021, the ABAC, the industry watchdog for alcohol advertising has received 121 complaints with a total of 62 determinations.
Some of the complaints found to have breached the ABAC Standards included an advertisement from alcohol delivery start-up, Jimmy Brings, as well as beer brands Balter Beer and Stone & Wood.
In total, of the 62 determinations, 32 were upheld, again with the majority being social media related, with 5 being packaging related. This represents more than double the determinations made in first quarter 2021.
The ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code (the Code) sets standards for responsible alcohol marketing in Australia and regularly measures its determinations externally to ensure it is in line with community expectations.
The report from this quarter found that most breach of standards related to alcohol use with swimming, and other activities that require a high degree of alertness. All marketers have removed material that was found to have breached the code for responsible standards.
It was determined that an Instagram post from Jimmy Brings had breached the standards, in relation to excessive or rapid consumption of alcohol.
In reaching this determination, the decision stated that “the Instagram posts rely on humour based on an underlying assumption that it is acceptable to drink excessively or rapidly on occasion and it is this underlying assumption that is inconsistent with the ABAC standard”.
Alcohol delivery service, Jimmy Brings was deemed to have breached the standards for social media posts
Stone & Wood Pacific Ale was deemed to have been in breach of the standards, with an Instagram story showing alcohol being consumer by a passenger in a motor vehicle.
The standard states that alcohol marketing cannot show or encourage irresponsible behaviour related to the consumption or presence of alcohol, with it also being unlawful for passengers to consume alcohol or have an open alcohol container in Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. The post was removed following the complaint.
Balter Beer were also pinged for breaching standards on showing alcohol consumption before or during any activity that, for safety reasons, requires a high degree or alertness or physical co-ordination. The brand posted on Instagram, showing a person drinking alcohol while swimming. The post was removed and Balter accepted the breach.
Industry education and training continues to be a high priority for ABAC. To complement the guidance materials available ABAC has recently released a free comprehensive online training course and video series which runs for just over an hour through the ABAC website.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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