Company: The Original Cider Company
Breach: Yes
Final Decision: 26 June 2008
Considered under the 4th Edition of the Code.
Complaint summary
“The prominence of MEGA and the emphasis on ‘High Strength’ would be caught by the Code”
Complainant
National Association of Cider Makers
Decision
Under Code paragraph 3.2(a)
A drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not in any direct or indirect way have the alcoholic strength, relatively high alcohol content, or the intoxicating effect, as a dominant theme.
UPHELD
The company submission
The company said that the brand had been on the market for a number of years without attracting complaint. They offered to delete the words “Mega strength” from the label and add the words “drink responsibly”.
The Panel’s assessment
The Panel did not object to the brand name “Mega White” but considered that the references to “mega strength” made the product’s alcoholic strength the dominant theme of the packaging. Accordingly, it decided to uphold the complaint under Code paragraph 3.2(a) but welcomed the remedial action proposed by the company.
Action by company
The company agreed to remove references to “Mega strength” from the drink’s packaging and to add responsibility information.