Media Watchdog Bans BrewDog Alcohol-Free Beer Billboard

It’s always one step forward and one step back for Scotland’s punk brewers…And that’s why we love them.

Here’s the deal…

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered Scottish brewer BrewDog to take down an ‘offensive’ billboard promoting its alcohol free beer placed outside a school.

Turns out, dozens of irate parents complained to the advertising watchdog after seeing a billboard for BrewDog’s “PUNK AF” outside a primary school.

At issue was less BrewDog’s newest non-alcoholic offering (which we gotta think would have ZERO appeal to those school kids looking to get high), but Punk AF’s can text: Punk “SOBER AS A MOTHERFU.”

BrewDog said the billboard, which launched in October for a planned 44 week run, “was not designed to cause offence and given it contained no profanity, it would not cause serious or widespread offence and was not inappropriate for display in a medium where it could be seen by children.”’

UKBillboards, which placed the billboard for BrewDog, was quick to come to the company’s defense giving two separate definitions for the slur…

“A despicable or very unpleasant person or thing”, and “A person or thing of a specified kind, especially one that is formidable, remarkable, or impressive in some way”.

The billboard company argued that, in the context of promoting the product, the word was consistent with the latter definition.

UKBillboards also said the dictionary classified the word ‘motherf*cker’ as vulgar slang, but they did not believe the context in which it was used in the ad was offensive.

However, the ASA ruled against BrewDog after receiving 26 complaints from pissed off parents, with some specifically citing the billboard’s proximity to a London school.

The ASA ruled that BrewDog’s Punk AF ad “must not appear again in the form complained about.”

“We acknowledged that the word was not displayed in its entirety; however, we considered the word ‘motherfucker’ was clearly being alluded to, and “motherfu” would therefore be understood as a clear reference to that swear word.”

This was not BrewDog’s first run-in with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. In 2013 the ASA jumped ugly after receiving a complaint about a statement on the BrewDog website asserting that it was a “post Punk apocalyptic mother f*cker of a craft brewery.”

Coinciding with BrewDog’s billboard indictment comes news this week that the brewery would be holding its first beer festival dedicated to non-alcoholic drinks next year.

So yes, one step forward and maybe just one step back for BrewDog. But you’ve got to admit they keep things interesting…