Miller beer ad banned for underage appeal

LONDON - The advertising watchdog has banned an ad for Miller Genuine Draft beer, which shows a man performing stunts on rollerskates, because it strongly appeals to under-18s.

The ad, created by Mother, received a single complaint from a viewer who believed that it suggested alcohol could increase someone's popularity and confidence and linked alcohol to sexual success.

In addition to the complaint, the Advertising Standards Authority suggested the ad would strongly appeal to under 18-year-olds by reflecting youth culture through the rollerskating and by showing daring behaviour.

The ad showed a man sitting in a traffic jam, looking at his watch and then seeing a pair of roller skates in a shop window.

He rollerskates to a concert to meet his friends, performing a series of stunts along the way, including jumping through a tyre and somersaulting over a large group of dogs.

The man catches the eye of a woman drinking a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft beer before arriving at the concert just in time to catch a beer sliding along the bar and to meet his friends.

Miller said the ad did not suggest alcohol could increase someone's popularity because all the actors in the ad acted responsibly, the rollerskater drank only after he arrived at the concert and his friends made no comments on his skating.

The advertising watchdog did not uphold the viewer's complaints that the ad suggested alcohol could increase someone's popularity and sex appeal but banned the ad because the series of stunts was likely to appeal to under-18s.