A poster for Young's Bitter featuring a chap with a ram's head enjoying a pint with friends has provoked the wrath of regulators.
The Advertising Standards Authority banned the poster, saying that depicting the ram as the centre of attention was "likely to be seen as linking alcohol with social success". Eh? I never realised that a male sheep with horns was such an aspirational figure.
"We considered that the strapline "This is a ram's world" emphasised that Young's drinkers were personified by the ram," explained the ASA. "The poster, by showing the ram as the focal point of the attentions of several women, suggested that Young's drinkers were more likely to be the target for seduction."
What hogwash. He's got a ram's head because he's drinking Young's Bitter and the Young's symbol is a ram. Presumably because he's drinking real ale, regulators would rather have him sitting in a smoke filled boozer with a whippet and a flat cap with the women at home cooking the dinner.
The ASA went on about the "masculinity of the ram" - yes, rams are male - and the "aspirational nature" of the ad. Aspirational? He's wearing a ram's head! He looks like he's going to a fancy dress party! Have you ever tried drinking a pint while wearing horns?
Whether the ad is any good or not – personally, I never liked it – isn't the question. It's whether it's likely to encourage excessive boozing among bitter drinkers eager to be as successful with the ladies as a chap with a ram's head. Unlikely.
