Skateboards and alcohol don’t mix

The ABAC Adjudication Panel has found another social media post involving a skateboard to be in breach of the ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code.
 
The latest case involved a Facebook post to a closed industry forum - ‘WA Bartenders’ and ‘WA Restaurant Staff’.  The post was made by the producer’s distributor in WA:

​The complaint was made on 2 bases – the reference to “healthy drinking”, and the depiction of “a woman about to ride a skateboard”.
 
The first element was dismissed, but the second was upheld on the basis:

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"the Panel believes that skateboarding is self-evidently an activity that to be safely carried out requires a rider to be alert and physically co-ordinated. To show or imply alcohol consumption occurring before or during skateboarding will be in breach of the standard."
 
The full decision can be read here.

​In May 2018, a complaint was also upheld under the Code regarding a skateboard post on Gage Roads’ Alby Facebook page:

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That complaint was upheld on 3 grounds:

1. The skateboarder appears to be under the age of 25 years old (the brewer did not respond, so there was no proof either way);
2. The use of a young male skateboarder as the central character in the post was “likely to strongly resonate with males under the age of 18”; and
3. Age restriction controls on the Facebook page were not operating at the time of the post.

 
The full decision can be read here.
 
The moral of the story is that alcohol producers need to be eternally vigilant as to what images are posted online that promote their product – and not just by the producer but also their agents, distributors, etc.