Advertising watchdog bans Pitcher and Piano advert for linking booze and beauty

2nd December 2009, 11:13am

An advert concealed within an email promoting an event at a Pitcher and Piano (P&P) bar has been banned because it implied that drinking alcohol could enhance attractiveness.

The event to be held at P&P in Didsbury was organised in conjunction with drinks brand Martini.

In the subject of the email were the words: "Stay beautiful with Martini".

The body copy of the e-mail featured the Martini and P&P logos and the text: "Stay beautiful".

Further text stated: "Stay beautiful with Martini and Pitcher & Piano Didsbury this week to celebrate their new martini ... Martini have joined with Pitcher & Piano Didsbury to bring you an evening of beauty, with complimentary samples of the fabulous summer rose and opportunities to pamper yourself with great beauty prizes."

In making its decision the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that recipients of the email had to wait until they got to the main body of the text to understand that 'Stay Beautiful' referred to the beauty event.

In a statement the ASA said: "In this specific case, even where the context was an invitation to a beauty evening, we considered that the reference to the beauty evening was not prominent enough to counteract the overall impression that Martini helped recipients to stay beautiful. We concluded that the e-mail irresponsibly implied that alcohol could enhance attractiveness."

As a result, the e-mail must not appear again in its current form.

P&P and Martini issued a joint response saying the advert was aimed at women aged 25 and 34 and described the campaign as "sophisticated".

Both companies said their respective brands were not trying to enhance sexual or social success.

They pointed to the strapline "Stay Beautiful" which reinforced the message that the women were just as beautiful at the end of the evening as they were at the start.

Related Articles:

• 01 Sep 2010 - Nando's “indecent” internet ad complaints not upheld

Click here to submit a comment!

Have your say!

To comment on this article, simply enter your name and email and send us your views. Please note that your comment will appear publicly below this article once it has been processed. For enquiries please email info@eatoutmagazine.co.uk.