Drinks firms censured over ads appealing to under-18s

copyright Brandrepublic.com
by Sarah Woods
published September 27, 2006



LONDON - Alcohol drinks ads for WKD and Smirnoff Ice have been banned by the advertising watchdog for featuring themes that would appeal to underage drinkers, after new rules came into force preventing alcohol ads from targeting under 18s.

In one of the television ads for WKD, created by Big Communications, two men in a shop looking for WKD are shouted at by a shopkeeper, who jumps out at them from behind some shelves. The men look surprised and leave the shop, while the shopkeeper waves his pricing gun at them, which spews out price stickers, like a real gun.

Another ad features two men finishing bottles of WKD while sitting on a sofa. They realise only one bottle is left so race towards the fridge playfighting. One drops a photoframe, which the other grabs, giving the first man time to reach the fridge.

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