Heineken withdraws 'stronger beer' ad

Dutch brewer Heineken has been forced to withdraw a UK television advert which suggested beer with a higher alcohol content was “better”.

The advert, featuring Goodfellas star Ray Liotta, was screened after the brewer decided to increase the strength of its beer from 3.4% ABV to 5%, to bring it in line with its strength in other countries where it is sold.

The advert, straplined “we believe in better” and part of a £7.5m (€11.4m) promotional campaign, sees a stranger arrive at the front door of a beer drinker who has left the dregs of his pint in a bar on the previous night.

The stranger says that leaving the dregs is a waste because Heineken is “now imported from Holland”. He says: “We got rid of the 3.4% and it’s now the 5% you drink abroad, and why…We believe it makes our beer better.”

Ofcom said that the only reason the advert gave for its better taste was its alcoholic strength.

The advertising watchdog agreed with the viewer who complained, saying: “Overall, the central message of the advertisement was that the new higher alcoholic strength made the beer better.

“There was undue emphasis given to the alcoholic strength of the product in breach of the Advertising Standards Code Rule.”

Heineken has now revised the ad by putting a greater emphasis on the beer’s brewed-at-source status and brewing process.

Heineken UK marketing director Leslie Meredith said: “Our intention from the start has been to communicate that Heineken has become better for a whole variety of reasons, including the fact that it is now an authentic import lager from Holland, and is the same 5% ABV lager enjoyed in other countries.

“If anything, we believe we were being responsible in communicating the 5% ABV strength of the lager, so that drinkers didn’t inadvertently consume more alcohol units than they had intended.”

Ofcom cleared a commercial for Walls sausages which featured a dog jumping into a window pane.

The watchdog dismissed complaints by 142 viewers that the advert would encourage animal abuse.

A man and dog have a tug of war over the plate of sausages, until the man shouts “cat” so that the dog jumps through the window.

The window is shut when the dog attempts to jump back in again and the dog slides down the window pane.

An advert for Volkswagen Touran which featured children doing mischievous things like dropping a mobile phone into a fish tank and putting a mini pizza into a DVD player sparked complaints from 30 viewers.

Ofcom said the advert should not be screened before 7.30pm to stop children copying it.

An advert for Renault Megane which sees people shake uncontrollably as the car passes was withdrawn after ten viewers complained it mocked people with illnesses which cause body tremors, such as Parkinson’s or Huntingdon’s.

The advert was intended to follow on from last year’s “shaking your ass” campaign, with more exaggerated shaking.