Watchdog flushes Air Up urinating man ad down the pan

German-owned water bottle brand Air Up, which claims to promote “decency and morality”, has been splattered by the ad watchdog over an ad which featured a man urinating into a lake in a spot that was designed to show how the firm could solve “daily hydration”.

The paid-for YouTube ad, seen in February and March 2024, showed the man from behind, taking a leak in a park pond, while a woman walked past carrying a child and a man shovelled snow.

The voice-over stated: “Air Up takes your water intake to new levels, by flavouring water through scent. We solved daily hydration for this guy, the side effects, less sugary drinks, a healthier lifestyle, and well, this, we couldn’t solve this, but he’ll take care of that […] You’ll be drinking a whole lot more water.”

However, nine complainants, who believed the ad condoned anti-social and potentially unlawful behaviour, challenged the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate whether the spot was irresponsible.

In response to the ASA probe, Air Up stated that as a company it promoted decency and morality and did not take its social responsibility obligations lightly. It did not believe the ad condoned or encouraged anti-social behaviour, it merely represented a human biological function in a humorous and non-offensive way.

It said the ad presented a fictional scenario in a humorous way and that an audience would be able to distinguish fiction from reality, adding that the spot attempted to convey that hydration was important, even if that resulted in sometimes needing to empty one’s bladder when it was not the right time and place.

The scenario presented was not intended to shock the audience; it was merely portraying a situation that most people would be familiar with, the firm claimed. It believed the other characters featured in the ad demonstrated that they found the behaviour unacceptable.

Air Up claimed it had not received any direct complaints about the ad and expressed caution about taking the impressions or feelings of a small group of complainants as being representative of the whole population. It said the ad was no longer being broadcast.

Google Ireland, the service providing the ad platform, confirmed that the ad had been served through Google Ads, a self-administered system. It said that under the terms agreed to by advertisers, it was the advertiser’s responsibility to abide by applicable laws and regulations, including the CAP Code.

In its ruling, the ASA acknowledged Air Up’s comments that the ad was intended to highlight the consequences of drinking more water in a humorous and fictitious way. However, the watchdog pointed out the scenario took place in a real-world setting and depicted a male prominently and publicly urinating in a park, which it considered people would view as being anti-social behaviour, as well as potentially unlawful in the UK.

Furthermore, although not explicitly depicted in the ad, because the protagonist was standing in the open while urinating, the ASA maintained that it was implied that his genitalia would have been exposed and potentially visible to others in the park.

Although the other characters shown in the ad, including a mother carrying a crying child, seemed displeased at the sight of the man urinating, he appeared comfortable with his actions, made no attempt to hide what he was doing or find a more discrete location, and expressed a sigh of relief whilst urinating.

The ad also focused on the man’s urine stream, which was explicitly visible and shown from different angles.

The ASA therefore considered that by trivialising the act of public urination, the ad condoned anti-social behaviour. On that basis, the watchdog concluded it was irresponsible and breached the Code.

Ruling that ad must not appear again in that form, the ASA went on to warn Air Up over its future activity.