Kronenbourg 1664 complaint upheld

Published: 04 July, 2011

A complaint about a Kronenbourg 1664 promotion on Spotify has been upheld because it includes a song which references drinking to excess.

The campaign played banner adverts on digital music service Spotify directing consumers to the Kronenbourg 1664 'slowed down' playlist as part of its 'Slow the Pace' campaign. The idea was to link relaxed consumption of alcohol with music that had been slowed down from the original. The complaint was about one of the tracks in the playlist, a cover of the Dead Kennedys' 'Too Drunk to Fuck' by Nouvelle Vague.

The Panel said that while the company had not deliberately set out to promote irresponsible drinking, the track name and lyrics referenced drinking to excess and so linked the brand with immoderate consumption. This was a breach of the industry Code rule 3.2 (f) which bans alcohol promotion from encouraging irresponsible or immoderate drinking.

The Kronenbourg 1664 promotion was developed by marketing agency BBH on behalf of Heineken UK, brand owner of Kronenbourg 1664.

David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group, which provides the secretariat for the Independent Complaints Panel, said: "We were pleased that the company took immediate action to remove the track from the playlist as soon as the complaint was brought to its attention.

"Heineken has also introduced more rigorous approval procedures as a result. This demonstrates just how careful companies have to be when marketing alcohol and we encourage people to get in touch with the Portman Group prior to campaign launch for advice on the Code rules."

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