Skrewball Spirits promotes its Skrewball brand of peanut butter whiskey through various social media channels.  Recently, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States issued a decision in response to complaint that had alleged that some of Skrewball's social media posts violated the DISCUS Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage Alcohol Advertising and Marketing.  The decision provides some interesting and important guidance for alcohol marketers who are trying to create engaging posts in social media. Here are some of the highlights. 

Adult Audiences

The DISCUS Code says that marketers must use best efforts to ensure that advertising is placed in media where at least 71.6% of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 or older.  In the decision, DISCUS determined that Skrewball had placed social media ads in violation of the Code.  

This is an important reminder that marketers must check the demographics -- and the age screening mechanisms -- of the social media platforms where their ads will run to ensure that their ads will only be targeted to an adult audience. 

Responsible Consumption

The DISCUS Code also says that "advertising or marketing materials should not portray beverage alcohol being consumed by a person who is engaged in, or is about to engage in, any activity that is illegal or requires a high degree of alertness or physical coordination, such as driving a vehicle."  Here, the complaint argued that Skrewball violated this standard by posting photos on Instagram that show people on pool floats and in swimsuits sitting by the side of the pool.  

While DISCUS acknowledged that the posts don't show the explicit consumption of Skrewball whiskey, DISCUS concluded that the photos violated the DISCUS Code.  DISCUS wrote, "the totality of the images would lead a reasonable person to believe that the individuals holding alcohol on floats in the pool and/or in bathing suits have been or about to consume beverage alcohol and are about to engage in swimming, an activity that requires a high degree of alertness."  DISCUS urged marketers to exercise caution "when utilizing imagery in advertising materials to ensure that beverage alcohol consumption is not portrayed in connection with any activities that would require a high degree of alertness."  

This isn't the first time a marketer has been called out for showing people drinking when engaged in water-related activities.  In the late 1990s, the Federal Trade Commission charged Beck's with engaging in unfair practices by showing sailboat passengers (who are not wearing lifejackets) holding bottles of beer, including people sitting on the edge of the boat. There, the FTC explained that, "even low and moderate blood alcohol levesl sufficiently affect coordination and balance to place boat passengers at increased risk of falling overboard and thus drowning, and many persons are unaware of this increased risk." 

The key take-away here is that, although you may choose to have pool parties or other water-related activities that involve drinking, both regulators and self-regulators don't think that you should encourage that in your advertising. 

Appeal to Children

Finally, the DISCUS Code says that "The content of beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials should primarily appeal to individuals 21 year of age or older."  Here, the complaint challenged some of the brand's Instagram videos -- called "Skrew's Clues" -- that played off of the well-known children's show Blue's Clues.  In addition to a similar sounding-title, various elements of the videos -- such as the main character's striped shirt and the animated environment -- potentially called to mind the show as well. 

DISCUS agreed that these videos also violated its Code.  DISCUS found that, "when viewed together, the imagery and tone employed in the Instagram videos appears to invoke and share similar attributes with a well-known show that is primarily aimed at children."  DISCUS further explained that, "even if there were no references to the well-known children's show, the combination of the cartoonish imagery employed and the vocal affect of the character primarily appeal to those below the legal purchase age." 

Skrewball had argued that it wasn't targeting kids; it was simply targeting people who watched the show when they were kids or who watched the show with kids.  Even if that's the case (and there's no reason to believe that it isn't), DISCUS's decision here is another important reminder that alcohol marketers should stay away from including any elements in their advertising that could even arguably have an appeal to kids.