Supermarket chain Countdown has been found to have broken advertising standards by promoting alcohol as an essential everyday item in its ‘great price winter freeze’ promotion.
In May, Countdown announced it would lock the prices of “more than 500 daily necessities”, including 20 alcohol products, for the winter in response to rising inflation.
Alcohol Healthwatch filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a Countdown website ad that referred to “more than 500 daily necessities” and contained alcohol products.
Alcohol Healthwatch said the “everyday necessities” statement carried a message that alcohol was a product that could be safely consumed on a daily basis.
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The advice of the Health Promotion is to drink alcohol-free at least two alcohol-free days a week.
According to the indictment, the take home message was that alcohol was essential.
“This is wrong.”
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Countdown says 20 alcohol products were included in the promotion.
It said the statement violated the alcohol advertising and promotional code which reads, “Alcohol should not be portrayed or presented as indispensable or that it should be a priority in life.”
ASA’s complaints committee upheld the complaint, saying it was not socially responsible for an advertiser to promote alcohol as an essential everyday item.
“The Complaints Committee agreed that the advertisement was not prepared with a high standard of social responsibility.”
The ad on the Countdown website promoted the “Great Winter Freeze” on the landing page with a banner with a shopping cart of products.
To the left of the ad was a list of categories, including one labeled “beer and wine,” which provided a link to the relevant alcohol products.
The caption read: “We are freezing prices on over 500 daily necessities such as Odd Bunch carrots, Essentials rice and our famous medium hot fried chicken.”
Woolworths, owner of Countdown, said it did not believe that alcohol was promoted in the campaign or portrayed as indispensable.
The ASA Complaints Committee disagreed.
Its wording and placement created a clear link between the phrase “everyday necessities” and alcohol products contained within it.
“The board confirmed that since the likely consumption of the term ‘everyday necessities’ were necessary items used on a daily basis, this representation of alcohol did not meet the requirement of a high standard of social responsibility.”
Woolworths said that during the campaign’s first week, the ad had changed from “more than 500 daily necessities” to “a huge range of daily necessities and more”.
As of May 25, the number of items on the website’s landing page has been reduced from 700 to 540, to reflect what would be considered “right essentials” by many.
While prices for alcohol products were still frozen, alcohol was removed from the landing page, it said.
The ASA ruled that the ad was no longer allowed to be used.