ASA bans Hooch advert for appealing to under-18s

Charman – who has racked up more than 1.2M Likes on his Facebook page for his short videos showing ‘stunts’ – was seen delivering bottles of the alcoholic drink Hooch to his friends by surfing across a swimming pool on an inflatable.

The video appeared on Charman’s Facebook page on June 10 2016, and featured Charman holding three bottles of Hooch by the side of a swimming pool. He then took a run up, and jumped onto the inflatable landing on his knees, and moved across the pool to deliver two of the bottles to his friends.

Advert may appeal to youngsters​

A complaint was made after the accuser said the advert showed Charman – who frequently appeared in other Hooch adverts (see below) – behaving in a juvenile manner, and because he was a social media star with young people, the advert might appeal to youngsters.

Global Brands, owner of the Hooch brand, said Charman was known as “the skills guy”​, and his audience was entertained by him doing things that appeared difficult or impossible.

The ASA said the company argued: “The performances, however, did not feature juvenile or reckless behaviour.​

“In the ad, Joe Charman was seeking to trade on his reputation as ‘the skills guy’, and the entertainment centred around a faked skill which was consistent with other performances the audience recognised as ‘fakes’, due to them being obviously altered with special effects.”​​

‘Behaving in an adolescent or juvenile manner’​

The ASA disagreed with Global Brands’s response. The advertising watchdog said: “CAP ​[Committee of Advertising Practice] code rule 18.14 required that alcohol ads were not likely to appeal particularly to under-18s and that people shown drinking or playing a significant role in such ads should not be shown behaving in an adolescent or juvenile manner.​

“We considered that showing Joe Charman, who was the main focus of the ad, carrying out a stunt using a swimming pool inflatable depicted behaviour likely to be regarded as juvenile, and therefore likely to be of particular appeal to under-18s. We concluded that the ad breached the code.”​

Global Brands was told the advert must not be shown again in its current form, and that future adverts shouldn’t include actors behaving in an adolescent or juvenile manner.