Alcohol giant Diageo has been rapped over the knuckles by the Advertising Standards Authority for its "lack of care" in running a rum ad on Snapchat.
The UK ad watchdog ruled that Diageo didn’t take sufficient caution to ensure that a Captain Morgan ad didn't reach minors.
A Snapchat spokesperson told AdNews it disagreed that Diageo was intentionally targeting an underage audience, as it had age restriction limits in place.
“The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acknowledges the evidence we provided, showing that ages supplied by Snapchatters are a robust way to age-restrict ads,” the spokesperson said.
“Snapchat now offers amongst the most sophisticated targeting in the industry and by introducing new tools such as Audience Lenses and incorporating additional signals into our targeting, advertisers have a reliable and flexible way to ensure their ads reach the right audience.”
The watchdog probe served as a warning to Australian brands as the popularity of the platform climbs Down Under, hitting four million daily users in 2016.
Snapchat’s response came as the ASA investigated the ad for rum brand Captain Morgan, and decided it was likely to be seen by children, and appeal to children, which breaches alcohol advertising codes.
The ruling prompted a decisive reaction from Diageo and left Snapchat on the defensive about its age verification and filters, which it insists it has improved since the ad was run in June 2017.
The ASA cautioned Diageo on two separate breaches of the advertising code.
The watchdog criticised Diageo and Snapchat for its lack of care for young users, as its targeting was based solely on users’ self-reported ages – a common practise for social media platforms.
There has been growing concern globally about the impact of alcohol ads on social media, with questions raised if beverage brands have effective age-gates in place.
