A drinks promotion by the
O’Briens Off-Licence chain was found to be in breach of the MEAS Code of
Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks recently because
it could encourage “illegal, irresponsible or immoderate consumption, such
as binge-drinking, drunkenness or drink-driving”.
A member of the public had
complained that the advertisement, which appeared in the Irish Independent
on 11th
December 2008, could encourage illegal or irresponsible drinking. The
advertisement stated;
“Heineken
BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!
5 LTR KEG €19.99
Equiv ltr €1.99 Best
Before Date 31.12.08”
The Panel noted that the
MEAS Code of Practice states that “a
drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity must not in any
direct or indirect way…encourage illegal, irresponsible or immoderate
consumption, such as binge-drinking, drunkenness or drink-driving”.
The Panel reviewed a copy of
the advertisement and considered the structure of the promotion which required
the consumer to purchase a five litre keg of Heineken in order to get another
five litre keg free and had a “Best Before Date 31.12.08”.
The Panel noted
correspondence from the Managing Director of O’Briens Off-Licences in which he
apologised unequivocally “if it was deemed that O’Briens has
contravened the MEAS Code of Practice” , stating that it was a “limited
promotion” that was “designed to offer value to our customers on a
premium brand and not intended to encourage immoderate consumption”.
He also said that “O’Briens
strives to set a good example in the market in all aspects of the responsible
consumption of alcohol and operates very strict training policies throughout
the branch network to achieve this”.
The Panel noted that kegs are
popular for use at parties and once opened, the alcohol contained within the
keg needed to be consumed relatively quickly. The format of this promotion,
“Buy 1 Get 1 Free”, differed from the format used for the other alcoholic
products promoted by O’Briens in the same Irish Independent advertisement
which involved products in 30cl bottles or one litre
bottles and a price reduction promotional mechanic.
The Panel accepted in full
the explanation given by the representative from O’Briens and commended the
responsible attitude towards alcohol sale, marketing and consumption
communicated in his correspondence. The Panel nevertheless concluded that the
promotion represented an unintentional and technical breach of the MEAS Code.
You have chosen to leave Barkeeper.ie and navigate to Barkeeper.co.uk. Please note that membership of either site does not include membership of the other.
Both sites contain different content tailored to the particular market. If you would like your membership changed to instead allow access to Barkeeper.co.uk, please contact us on info@barkeeper.ie.
If you would like to navigate to Barkeeper.co.uk, press continue now, or to remain on Barkeeper.ie, press cancel.
Print this page
Tell a friend
A drinks promotion by the
O’Briens Off-Licence chain was found to be in breach of the MEAS Code of
Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks recently because
it could encourage 
