Ban on Brewdog Hard Seltzer Insta ad raises wider questions
The Advertising Standards of Authority has banned a Brewdog advert for Hard Seltzer that appeared on Insta.
The ASA’s issue was that while Brewdog claimed that the drink was healthy as it had only 90 calories, no drink that is 5% alcohol (as Hard Seltzer’s often are) can be described as healthy.
It looks like a collision between a sensible decision to stop alcoholic drinks being seen as light refreshment (though some might be if less strong- see Table Beer) and a temperance mindset which suggests that alcohol is bad for you period.
I doubt we can have any sympathy for Brewdog here who almost certainly knew what they were doing and wanted publicity for Hard Seltzer.
For those who haven’t tried one- I had a passionfruit variant made by Thornbridge and Mikkeller a couple of weeks ago. It was 5%. It was pleasant to drink and nothing at all to do with beer. It would indeed make a good alternative to beer if it wasn’t for the fact that it was actually stronger than many standard beers and lagers.
But if it was considerably less strong (and there are low to no alcohol Seltzers around) it might.
In an historical context its worth keeping in mind that numbers of drinks associated with temperance were actually fermented and contained a certain amount of alcohol. No doubt temperance campaigners thought they were healthy.
I suppose the point is, enjoy Hard Seltzer if you want to but don’t knock it back as if it were flavoured water. It is of course, but water wont give you a hangover and it is definitely healthy.
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