The magazine advertisement for Crack Ice, headlined "Crack Ice Irish Potcheen 5.5% abv", showed a fox, wearing clothes and sunglasses, sitting in an alleyway beside a bottle of the drink.
The fox was leaning against a wall graffiti'ed with the phrase "Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire". In the bottom right-hand corner of the ad was a stamp saying "Now being sold legally in pubs and clubs", while copy ran up the bottom right-hand side of the ad, stating: "Warning: This product contains a serious alcohol".
Two complainants objected that the ad was irresponsible because the words "Crack Ice" were associated with illegal drug use and that the "warning" suggested that people who tried the drink were brave and daring.
Soho Drinks, which distributes the drink in the UK, explained that after the Irish government had legalised the sale of poteen, it had decided to launch the first poteen on the UK market.
It said had chosen the name "crack", an anglicised spelling of the Gaelic word "craic" meaning fun, because it believed it represented the laid-back, carefree attitude of the Irish.
Soho Drinks said it intended to portray Crack Ice as a thirst-quenching drink, which was reflected in the brand name. While understanding that the word "crack", also spelt "craic", was commonly used in Ireland to mean fun, the ASA noted that "crack" and "ice" were both colloquial words for crack cocaine and said that the creative execution of the advertisement seemed to suggest the two meanings of "crack".
The authority concluded that the explicit and implicit references in the ad to drugs and drug use were irresponsible and told the advertisers to use a different approach in future.
It also said that most people would believe the warning given on the ad was tongue-in-cheek and implied that those who tried the drink were brave or daring. Soho Drinks was told to amend the warning statement with help from the Committee of Advertising Practice copy advice team.
A third complaint, that the ad focused on the alcoholic strength of the drink, was not upheld by the ASA.
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