Conor McGregor beer advert KO’d by advertising watchdog

The advertising watchdog has delivered a knockout blow to a beer ad featuring mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, and has ruled that the advert should not run again as the Dubliner is ‘a hero of the young’.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland received two complaints following the airing of the television spot for Budweiser, which features McGregor walking through city settings in Ireland and the US, with an accompanying voiceover from the fighter.

The advert also invited entrants for a ‘Dream Big’ contest run by the beer brand. Both complainants considered that it was irresponsible and inappropriate to associate Conor McGregor with an alcohol product, and one of the complainants said that linking alcohol to an “aggressive” sport like mixed martial arts was “sending out a dangerous message to young children”.

Defending the complaint, the advertisers said that Mr McGergor does not interact with any Budweiser product in the advert and that no alcohol appears throughout the footage.

They also said that the advert “only aired on channels and during programmes which had an overwhelming adult audience for both traditional and digital media channels”.

The advertisers further argued against the claim that McGregor is a ‘hero of the young’ because mixed martial arts does not have structures in place similar to football, GAA or rugby that “encouraged extremely high levels of connectivity and structured interaction between the “stars” of these games and their respective young fan base”.

While it was not of the view that the advert’s content had linked the presence or consumption of alcohol to aggressive, unruly, irresponsible or anti-social behaviour, the ASAI upheld both complaints on the grounds that Mr McGregor is a role model for young people and therefore the ad breached its code as it linked the fighter with the consumption of alcohol.

“The committee, having regard to Conor McGregor’s status as world champion and profile, considered that he is a hero of the young for the purpose of clause 9.7(c) of the code.

They concluded, therefore, that the advertising was currently in breach of sections 9.1, and 9.7(c) of the code,” the ASAI said.

It has ruled that the advert is not to be shown again.

Last March, RTÉ said that it would not screen the ad, after its clearance committee which vets all commercials planned for broadcast, raised its concerns over whether it would comply with the ASAI code.