ASA clears Bordeaux Wine work

A raunchy ad for Bordeaux Wine featuring a woman in her underwear

and a man stripped to the waist has been cleared by ad watchdogs of

linking sex to drinking.

Alcohol Concern complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about

the poster and magazine ad which also showed words such as ’deep’,

’lingering’, ’lip-staining’ and ’kisses’ superimposed on a wineglass and

carrying the line: ’Let the mood take you to Bordeaux.’

The Bordeaux Wine Bureau claimed that the ad, created by Mitchell

Patterson Grime Mitchell, had been designed to avoid giving the

impression of casual sex or any suggestion of the wine aiding sexual

prowess.

The ASA also rejected charges that a poster for a tequila brand showing

a wrestler about to throw an old lady on to the floor inferred that

violence against old people was funny.

Young & Rubicam produced the ad for United Distillers & Vintners’ Jose

Cuervo Gold Tequila. It carried the headline: ’Do not slam’, while the

copy read: ’Tempting. But Jose Cuervo Gold has been beautifully mellowed

by ageing. Knocking it about doesn’t really bring out the best in

it.’

However, the ASA has been given an undertaking by the mail-order drinks

company First Quench not to repeat a rule-breaking poster campaign

accused of encouraging excessive drinking.

One ad showed a shaven-headed grinning man and the headline: ’It was the

best thing about my birthday ... 6 beers before midday.’ The other

pictured a woman and was headlined: ’A bottle of Champagne before

breakfast did wonders for our love life.’

Meanwhile, Saatchi & Saatchi has been carpeted by the ASA for not

carrying out proper checks for a spoof ad which inadvertently used the

names of real cosmetic surgery clinics.

The Hair Clinic, Transform Medical Group and the Harley Medical Group

objected to the agency’s double-page national press ad comprising a

series of fake classified ads, which included ’before and after’

pictures, to promote Hewlett-Packard’s photographic service.

One complaint came from somebody who had unsuccessfully tried to contact

some of the ’advertisers’.

This article was first published on Campaign