Violent ads breach advertising code

Still from ALAC ( Alcohol and liquor advisory council ) television advertisement entitled Had enough? Photo / Supplied

A binge drinking television ad played before 8.30pm has been found to be in breach of the advertising code.

Complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Alcohol Advisory Council ad, which depicts a man waking up on the bathroom floor in blood and vomit after a night of heavy drinking.

The complainants said they were not happy seeing the violent ads on television before 8.30pm, when their children were also watching.

The authority has upheld the complaints, saying the ads were not prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society. It says even though children may be inadvertent victims of excessive drinking, the message in the advertisement was not directed at them and the ad's classification must be changed to Adults Only.

Similar complaints were made about another of ALAC's binge drinking ad, showing a man getting drunk at a house party and swinging a child around, before losing control of the boy. The child is then seen lying motionless on the floor. TV1 and TV3 moved the ad to after 8.30pm after receiving the complaints and the Advertising Standards Authority ruled the complaint had been settled.

- NEWSTALK ZB