Diageo's Captain Morgan advert once again banned by the ASA

By Erin Smith

Published: 23 July, 2014

Diageo, for the second time this year, has had a Captain Morgan advert banned by the Advetising Standards Authority (ASA) for a Facebook adve which stated that alcohol could combat boredom.

Diageo, for the second time this year, has had a Captain Morgan advert banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a Facebook advert which stated that alcohol could combat boredom.

The ASA took action following a complaint filed by the Youth Alcohol Advertising Council saying that the ad was irresponsible.

The banned advert reads: "Wednesday. I'm declaring war on mid-week boredom", with the Captain raising a glass with his crew.

Diageo argued the advert was to encourage consumers to "take a break from their normal weekday routine" and spend time with friends rather than wait for the weekend.

The ASA disagreed and stated the most obvious interpretation people would make on the Facebook page advert would be that the Captain was drinking to alleviate boredom.

This is the second time that Diageo and the Captain Morgan brand has been in trouble with the ASA this year.

In February a TV advert was banned by the ASA for linking alcohol with "daringness and toughness". The advert's main character is a captain that performs stunts and the character is described as "A legend. A hero history remembers. A liver of life."

Captain Morgan

Video:

Banned Captain Morgan TV Advert

The ASA is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media. According to the ASA in its most recent 2012 statistics 31,298 complaints were reported and investigated. As a result nearly 3,700 ads were changed or withdrawn.

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