Nitro vodka pulls adverts after complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Nitro vodka has pulled a bunch of adverts, similar to this one on their Instagram, following complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Critics are calling for stronger standards for alcohol advertising after more than half of complaints lodged in regard to Nitro vodka adverts were not upheld.

In July, Consumer NZ complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about nine advertisements posted by Nitro, which ran from March 2020 to February 2021.

The National Brands-owned vodka brand posted ads to its Facebook and Instagram page, which promoted excessive alcohol consumption, and unsafe and risky behaviour, Consumer NZ said.

They included the words “3 DAY BENDER” and showed a person in a bikini bending backwards on a stage, with two 1.25L bottles and cans of Nitro.

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Several other posts on Nitro’s social media depicted drinking games.

In June, the Southern District Health Board and Alcohol Healthwatch also lodged nine complaints about 111 posts on Nitro’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued guidelines for so-called 'influencers' - individuals who have large followings on social media. (Video first published September 2020)

However, due to the updated Alcohol Advertising and Promotion Code, the Advertising Standards Authority wouldn’t consider seven of the nine complaints because they were posted before June 30, 2020 and had no “meaningfully current audience”.

The code came into effect in April and covers new alcohol ads and existing ones from July.

It beefs up the rules that advertisers must follow when it comes to promoting alcohol with digital marketing and on social media.

However, this is a voluntary code that’s self-regulated by its members, Consumer NZ says.

Critics claim this doesn’t go far enough and the code should be replaced by stronger statutory standards.

Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Dr Nicki Jackson said she believed Nitro Vodka was a prime example of an advertiser pushing the limits.

“This alcohol advertiser, who particularly targets young adult drinkers, has been found to repeatedly breach the voluntary advertising code,” Jackson said.

“We have asked the ASA to routinely monitor their advertising for code compliance, but they are unable to. It clearly shows the code is not worth the paper it is written on.”

In February, the New Zealand Medical Journal published research by Alcohol Healthwatch, which found that over a three-year period just 24 per cent of complaints to the ASA about alcohol advertising were upheld, 40 per cent were settled.

National Brands, which own Nitro, agreed to remove the remaining 10 posts from its social media, and the complaints were settled.

The two remaining Nitro advertisements were settled by the Advertising Standards Authority after National Brands agreed to take them down.