Diageo has stopped advertising on Snapchat after UK authorities ruled that the company hadn’t taken sufficient care to ensure that a Captain Morgan ad wasn’t directed at people under the age of 18.
The lens advert allowed Snapchat users to send an image of themselves dressed up as Captain Morgan, featuring two glasses of an alcoholic drink clinking together on the screen.
Captain Morgan owner Diageo said it didn’t use bright, loud or artificial colours that would be of particular appeal to children.
However, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) considered that the icon image of a cartoon pirate was “of particular appeal to under 18s”.
In a statement, it said: “We noted that the lens did not, however, use particularly bright colours, but it did age and add a beard to the user’s face which we considered was of comedic effect.
“Taken together with the lens icon, we considered that the specific interactive and augmented elements of the lens, such as the user’s face being made to look like a buccaneer, the clinking glasses, references to Captain and the cheering, were likely to appeal particularly to those under 18.”
The CAP Code requires that no medium should be used to advertise alcoholic drinks if more than 25% of its audience was under 18 years of age.
A Diageo spokesperson said: “We have a strict marketing code, take our role as a responsible marketer very seriously and acknowledge the ASA’s ruling. We took all reasonable steps to ensure the content we put on Snapchat was not directed at under 18s – using the data provided to us by Snapchat and applying an age filter.
“We have now stopped all advertising on Snapchat globally whilst we assess the incremental age verification safeguards that Snapchat are implementing.”
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