RTE not to air new Bacardi ad

RTE has decided not to air the new Bacardi Breezer television ad even though the alcohol content of the product is well below the level permitted by the Code of Advertising.

The 30-second UK generated ad is being shown on TV3 and in cinemas as part of a £300,000 (€411,130) marketing spend by Edward Dillon in support of the drink which is a mix of Bacardi rum and fruit juice.

The reason for the ads rejection according to an RTE source is the name, which features the brand identity of the well-known rum. The product's alcohol content is 5.4 per cent. Drinks with an alcohol level of less than 25 per cent are usually permitted to advertise on tv which is why beer ads are accepted. Baileys, at 11 per cent, is also a regular TV advertiser. Bacardi itself can not be advertised as it and all other white spirits exceed the limit.

The same RTE source suggested that if the product was simply called Breezer, the station would have no problem with taking the advertisement. However another explanation for the refusal is likely to be memories of the alcopop furore in 1996 which resulted in a Government request to remove all alcopop ads because of the feeling that they were recruiting underage drinkers. Sensitive to the associations that come with the alcopop tag, Edward Dillon refer to Bacardi Breezer as a pre-mixed drink.

While TV3 does not have the same sophisticated copy clearance mechanism as RTE, ad sales director Mr Pat Kiely says that it obeys Independent Radio and Television Commission codes and all other legal requirements when deciding on whether to accept an ad. The station also considered that the highly sophisticated 30-second ad, which was made by McCann Erickson in London, appeals to an older age group.