BrewDog issues 'gold plated' apology as ASA snarls

BrewDog has issued an uncharacteristic apology over the mistakes it made for the “solid gold” beer can promotion – in which the prizes turned out to be gold plated – and is launching a new promotion offering 10 diamond-encrusted tins to drinkers over the next 10 days, each worth £25,000.

The launch of the controversial company’s latest competition coincides with an Advertising Standards Authority ruling over the previous one, which launched in November 2020 with a Twitter and Facebook campaign.

The first tweet included text which stated that “10 solid gold Punk IPA cans are hidden in Punk 12-packs which will ship from our online shop over the next 4 weeks. Winners receive a gold can worth £15K, 10K of BrewDog shares & VIP tour of our Brewery”. The post included the image of a gold-coloured can of BrewDog Punk IPA.

A second tweet added that the firm had hidden “5 gold wrapped cans in 12, 24 and 48-packs of Hazy Jane on our online store. Find the wrapped can and you can claim a solid gold, 24-carat one!”. The post included the image of a gold coloured can of BrewDog Hazy Jane around which a ring of text stated “You’re so golden”.

The Facebook post, repeated the claims and added that “you can claim a solid gold, 24-carat one!”

However, not everyone was quite so thrilled by the campaign, and 25 complainants, who understood that the prize was not made from “solid gold”, challenged the ASA whether the ads were misleading.

In its defence, BrewDog admitted the cans were gold plated rather than solid gold, but claimed the social media posts which contained the words “solid gold” were sent out in error – twice.

The company insisted it was unable to amend the tweets – and was unwilling to delete them – so changed subsequent references to “gold cans”.

BrewDog even suggested that “any reasonable consumer who entered the competition” would realise that the firm would never offer a solid gold can in the first place, which it estimated would cost over $500,000.

The ASA, however, was having none of it and rapped the company firmly on the knuckles, banning the ad from running again. It also warned BrewDog about future claims in its advertising.

The issue of the “solid gold” cans first emerged in June, when one winner, Mark Craig of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, complained in the media about his prize.

At the time, he told The Sun: ““When I won I was ecstatic, (but) I ultimately feel disappointed. The certificate they sent said it was gold-plated but they promoted it as solid gold. When I contacted them they told me the ‘solid gold’ claim was an error.”

BrewDog said its new giveaway is called “The Sequel: A Gold Plated Apology” and offers customers the chance to win one of 10 diamond encrusted gold plated cans. Winners will have the option of claiming a can worth £25,000, or they can take £25,000 in cash if they prefer.

BrewDog chief executive and co-founder James Watt, who once said the “ASA can go fuck themselves” was decidedly chastened. He commented: “We hold our hands up, we got the first gold can campaign wrong. Whilst we still stand by the valuation, we made mistakes which we’ve learnt from.

“And now we want to give ten lucky people the chance to win big – way, way bigger than before. It’ll be a short campaign over ten days, and we’ll contact a new winner each day to let them know they’ve won.”

In response, Mark Craig told The Sun: “They screwed me over, now they’re doubling down on it. Why don’t they pay me and the other winners what we were promised?”