Belvedere Vodka Ad Banned for Suggestion that Alcohol Makes a Party

Just in time for arguably the wettest holiday of the year — New Year’s Eve — regulators across the pond have banned an alcohol ad for suggesting that a successful night out hinges on the consumption of booze.

The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled that a Belvedere print ad — though it did not display people drinking  vodka — “suggested that alcohol was the major element of the apparent success of the featured party.”

The ad showed a woman splayed out on the knees of friends on a couch with superimposed text surrounding a bottle of Belvedere vodka that read, “There’s a night out. And there’s a night out. Belvedere Vodka. Know the difference.”

The ASA said the nature of the “very playful scene” alongside the image of the bottle and text implied that the group’s shared enjoyment came as a direct result of drinking alcohol.

RELATED: Study Says ‘Drink Responsibly’ Message Fall Terribly Short

The ad breached social responsibility codes for the advertising of alcohol, the ASA ruled. Moet-Hennessy, which owns Belvedere vodka, argued that the ad did not portray alcohol as the inherent factor of the group’s good times because no one was shown throwing back any drinks, according to an ASA release.

In the U.S., industry standards require that alcohol ads convey a message of responsible drinking. But sometimes those messages fall short. For instance, a recent study into the efficacy of “drink responsibly” messages found that 9 out of 10 alcohol ads carry such a message, but none with a defined message about the potential dangers of drinking.

For more of our coverage on the alcohol industry, click here.