NB: The article cites a notorious song title that contains a swear word. (That very notoriety is part of the appeal to a drinks brand that appeared to be trying to circumvent legal restrictions on marketing alcohol to young people with this campaign)
Had any of you come across this marketing campaign - or perhaps the music without realising it was a subtle ad campaign?
Article link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/05/heineken-campaign-banned-binge-drinking
Dead Kennedys cover pulled from lager campaign over binge-drinking fears
Campaign on Spotify for Kronenbourg 1664 banned by alcohol industry watchdog
- guardian.co.uk,
Dead Kennedys: promoting 'irresponsible drinking'? Photograph: Peter Noble/Redferns
Heineken has been forced to drop a cover of the US punk band Dead Kennedys' song Too Drunk to Fuck that featured in a Kronenbourg 1664 online promotion, after a complaint to the alcohol industry marketing watchdog that it encouraged binge drinking.
Heineken's Kronenbourg 1664 campaign featured banner advertisements on popular music site Spotify.
The ads directed music lovers to a special Kronenbourg "slowed down" playlist as part of a campaign by the beer brand called "Slow the Pace".
Heineken's aim was to link the idea of "relaxed consumption" of beer with music that had been "uncharacteristically slowed down" from the original track.
One of the tracks on the playlist was the Dead Kennedys' Too Drunk to Fuck, originally a thrashy ode to a misspent evening, as covered by the band Nouvelle Vague in an ironic easy-listening style.
Drinks industry marketing watchdog the Portman Group, which operates a self-regulatory code of practice, received a complaint about the promotion and the use of the track.
The Portman Group's independent complaints panel said that while Kronenbourg had not "set out to promote irresponsible drinking", nevertheless the "track name and lyrics referenced drinking to excess, thereby associating the brand with immoderate consumption".
It added that this represented a breach of its industry code, which bans alcohol promotions from "encouraging irresponsible or immoderate drinking".
"This demonstrates just how careful companies have to be when marketing alcohol," said David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group. "We were pleased that the company took immediate action to remove the track from the playlist. As soon as the complaint was brought to its attention Heineken has also introduced more rigorous approval procedures as a result."
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