Au Vodka has drawn the ire of the ASA for its social media ads that inappropriately targeted children and featured people who were under 25 years old.
A complainant brought two of the brand’s paid-for Facebook posts to the watchdog’s attention, as they featured influencers under the age of 25. It also challenged whether a TikTok post by Love Island star Lucinda Strafford inappropriately targeted under-18s.
One Facebook ad featured YouTuber Kai Cenat, who was 23 years old at the time, opening a parcel containing a bottle of Au Vodka Juicy Peach, and drinking the product.
Au Vodka stated that it had applied location targeting to deliver the ad to audiences in the US, where Cenat’s age was compliant with advertising laws.
However, at the time the ad was seen by the ASA, it was visible to consumers who had their location set as Great Britain.
The second Facebook ad featured a video of a young woman holding a drink. She said, “You need to try this,” showing a bottle of Au Vodka Juicy Peach to the camera before pouring it into the glass and taking a drink.
Au Vodka acknowledged that the woman featured in the ad was 24 years old at the time it appeared, and that it was therefore in breach of the CAP code.
However, it argued that Strafford’s TikTok post would not appeal to under-18s. It provided a screenshot of her audience demographics, which it claimed demonstrated that most of her followers were aged 18 or over. It stated the ad had also been promoted on Facebook and Instagram with specific targeting filters.
The verdict
The ASA upheld the complaints made against all three ads, stating that ads for alcoholic drinks or ads that featured or referred to alcoholic drinks must not be directed at people under 18 years of age.
It argued that the minimum age required to create a TikTok account was 13, and while Strafford’s followers were largely aged 18 to 24 (50.9%), no data for followers aged between 13 and 17 was made available.
It considered that the Love Island series was popular with young people, including under-18s, and that a number of individuals who were under the age of 18 with TikTok accounts were therefore likely to interact with content related to the TV show on the platform.
As both Facebook ads featured adults under the age of 25, they were also found to be in breach of the code.
The Grocer has approached Au Vodka for comment.
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