Fife whisky company banned from using 'irresponsible' adverts

The Advertising Standards Authority said that two adverts from River Rock encouraged people to drink the whisky in ‘unsafe’ conditions.

The first ad, a post on River Rock's Facebook page, stated: "What better way to celebrate the launch of batch #2 than with a whisky tasting at 3500ft?”

The second ad, a page on the firm’s website, included a similar statement and featured a story of how the River Rock team had a ‘memorable whisky tasting’ while at the summit of a mountain.

A complaint was submitted in response to the ads, claiming they were ‘irresponsible’, because they linked alcohol to an activity or location which would be unsafe.

RR Whisky Ltd argued that did not believe the ads showed people drinking in a situation that would be unsafe or stated that dangerous activities should be undertaken whilst, or after, drinking their product.

Although the ads featured images of mountains, and people walking, they did not believe the ads implied or stated that the people featured had consumed whisky. They believed the ads did not state or encourage people to drink whisky at the top of a mountain.

They explained that the experience of walking to the top of a mountain created strong memories that were shared over a whisky tasting and they maintained that the only drinking shots and whisky tasting took place after the walk.

However, the advertising authority upheld the complaint and said that the ads must not appear again in their current form.

The code states that ads must not link alcohol with activities or locations in which drinking would be unsafe.

The code permitted alcohol ads to feature sporting or physical activities, but stated that ads must not imply those activities were undertaken after the consumption of alcohol.

A statement said: “We told RR Whisky Ltd to ensure their ads were not irresponsible in future, for example, by linking alcohol with activities or locations in which drinking would be unsafe or by suggesting that sporting or other physical activities had been undertaken after the consumption of alcohol.”