Brewdog’s solid gold beer cans ads were misleading, watchdog says

The beer firm told customers they could win a solid gold beer can worth £15,000, but have since apologised.

The Advertising Standards Agency received 25 complaints from people who said the prize cans were not made from solid gold (Brewdog)

A Brewdog campaign which said customers could win a beer can made of solid gold was found to be misleading by the advertising watchdog.

The Scotland-based craft brewery told customers on social media they could win a 24-carat solid gold beer can worth £15,000.

The Advertising Standards Agency received 25 complaints from those who said the prize cans were not made from solid gold, but gold-plated instead.

The ASA upheld these complaints and said Brewdog’s Facebook and Twitter adverts were misleading.

“The awarded prize was not the same as that described in the ads, the promotion caused unnecessary disappointment to participants and therefore breached the Code,” the ASA said.

Brewdog has publicly apologised for the advert. In response to the ASA’s ruling, James Watt, Brewdog’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “We hold our hands up, we got the first gold can campaign wrong.”

One competition winner, Mark Craig, contests the £15,000 value of the gold-plated can he won and believes it is “not worth anything”. Brewdog have stood by their valuation.

They have since relaunched their advertising campaign, and have titled it ‘The Sequel: A Gold Plated Apology’.

This controversy comes amid allegations from former Brewdog employees about workplace bullying and a “culture of fear” at the beer firm. A letter from ex-staff members stated that some had “suffered mental illness” from working at Brewdog.