Complaint upheld against Lar Corbett's Bar over ad depicting Jesus with a pint

The ad from the Lar Corbett's & Coppinger's pub appeared on Facebook in the lead-up to Good Friday this year - the first time pubs were allowed to sell alcohol on the day. It included the phrase: "Thank God it's Good Friday. Pubs open. Let's celebrate.”

The complainant had two issues with the poster. She felt it was promoting alcohol in a way that could be harmful by featuring drinks at a very low price and, as a Catholic, she was highly offended by the picture of Our Lord holding a pint. She said she felt the advertisement was both dangerous and insulting.

The Complaints Committee expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaint. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to ensure that their advertising is in conformity with the code.

In the absence of a response from Lar Corbett & Coppingers, the Committee concluded that the advertisement was in breach of the code and should not be used in the same format again.

In a complaint against the retailer Dealz, a male consumer argued that the company's ‘Harry the Hunk’ advertisements for cleaning products objectified the male body in an unnecessary way which had no connection with the products that were being sold.

He felt this type of advertisement would not be allowed if it featured a woman in her underwear advertising the same products. He said the advertisements could have been viewed by anyone on the advertiser’s website, including children.

Upholding the complaint, the ASAI's complaints committee considered that the advertisements had displayed sexually suggestive behaviour that bore no relevance to the product being promoted.

However, another complaint against an ad for yoghurt by the dairy company Muller and also featuring scantily clad men was not upheld, with the ASAI noting that while the men featured were shown topless or naked, it was not in an overt manner, was in line with other advertisements in Muller's campaign and the overall tone of the advertisements were light-hearted.

The ASAI also upheld a complaint against an online advertisement by Aer Lingus in relation to a flight promotion. The complainant wished to avail of the advertised fare to Frankfurt and noted that the travel dates were listed as between April 1 and September 30. He was a weekly commuter to Frankfurt and had tried to avail of the advertised fare for travel from May 1. However, he could only find seats available at the ‘from’ price of €39.99 for travel in April.

A complaint against a television commercial by Eir which showed scenes from various rugby matches was taken by Vodafone on the grounds that it took unfair advantage of its sponsorship of the Irish rugby team. They considered that the claim “Home of Rugby in Ireland” in the advertising was misleading and deceptive.

However, the ASAI concluded that it was not in breach of the code. The Committee did not consider that the claim was misleading nor did they consider that it was infringing on the complainant’s sponsorship.