Self-styled ‘punk’ brewer Brewdog has been rapped by advertising watchdogs for using offensive language on its website.
An internet user complained to the Advertising Standards Authority after the home page of www.brewdog.com displayed the text: “BrewDog is a post Punk apocalyptic mother fu*ker of a craft brewery. Say goodbye to the corporate beer whores crazy for power and world domination… Ride toward anarchy and caramel craziness. Let the sharp bitter finish rip you straight to the tits. Save up for a Luger, and drill the bastards.”
The ASA said Brewdog had since removed the text, but added that the brewer had not provided a “substantive” response to the authority’s queries.
It upheld the complaint, ruling that the language used was gratuitous and concluding the page was likely to cause serious offence to some visitors.
“We noted the asterisk used in ‘mother fu*ker’, but considered its inclusion did not obscure the intended meaning and it was still clear that it represented a swear word, one generally regarded as highly offensive and unlikely to be acceptable in marketing communications,” said the ASA in its ruling.
Last month, the brewer announced a crowdfunding push to raise £4m from its fans in return for shares in the business.
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