New Decisions: Beer Culture, News Sources and More

The following decisions have been published on the ASA website:

Social Media Content Not Controlled by Advertiser Outside ASA Jurisdiction

Two Facebook groups and an Instagram account contained posts that focused on the consumption of Double Brown beer, a product of DB Breweries Limited.

A Complainant was concerned the material depicted irresponsible drinking behaviours including excessive drinking, drinking in hazardous environments, and showing people under 25 consuming alcohol with strong appeal to minors.

DB Breweries stated the content on the Facebook groups and Instagram account was not generated or controlled by DB Breweries Limited, nor had it endorsed or distributed the user-generated content.

The Complaints Board agreed that the content subject to complaint, which was not controlled by DB Breweries, did not fall within the definition of an advertisement. Accordingly the Complaints Board ruled it had No Jurisdiction to consider the complaint.

Newshub claims supported

A television advertisement for Newshub, MediaWorks’ multiplatform news service, showed a man experiencing Newshub over a week, including watching the 6pm Newshub television news. A voiceover said, in part: “More New Zealanders get their news from us” and the onscreen text said: “3 million Kiwis and counting.” The advertisement concluded with the Newshub logo and said: “Live at 6pm. APP. RADIO. WEB. THREE.”

The Complainant said the advertisement was misleading as the claim “3 million Kiwis and counting” was unable to be substantiated. The Advertiser provided independent research to support the claim that 3 million New Zealanders use their multiplatform news service.

The majority of the Complaints Board said that it would be clear to most people that the claim was referencing Newshub’s users across all platforms. It said the Advertiser had substantiated the claim using industry accepted data and the advertisement was unlikely to mislead consumers. In accordance with the majority the Complaints Board ruled the complaint was Not Upheld.