Instagram Stories ad banned by watch dog- Expert Opinion by Nicole Reaney, Director, InsideOut PR via SmartCompany
IOPR Director shares her expert opinion via SmartCompany
An advertisement for a drinking game mobile app that appeared through Instagram’s ‘Stories’ function has been banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau because it depicted inappropriate drinking scenes.
The ad was for an application called ‘Full Party’ — a drinking game app that incites users to drink based on if they have or haven’t done certain things — made by Team Penguin Studio.
In the advertisement, numerous people are shown in various drinking scenarios, including a man having beer poured on him as he lays on the floor, a man using beer bottles as glasses, and a man mixing a banana and alcohol.
Viewers complained to the Ad Standards Board, expressing the ad was promoting excessive alcohol consumption, and claimed the number of drinks the app promoted was “insane”.
Speaking to SmartCompany, director of InsideOut PR Nicole Reaney said the use of ads within Instagram stories is a fairly new phenomenon, with the function only reaching the platform last year.
She believes this case is the first one where a complaint has been levelled against an ad featured on an Instagram story, but she expects more will follow.
“As the adoption of platforms continues to rise — with around 9 million Australians with an Instagram account — it is not surprising that the ASB will start to receive more complaints,” she said.
Reaney also claims the ongoing rise of social media platforms such as Instagram is leading to a more laissez-faire approach by smaller advertisers, resulting in poorly thought out ads such as this one.
“Advertising campaigns by corporations undertake considerable thought and multi-layered approval processes, where the accessibility of social media advertising to businesses of all sizes and the pressure to churn content, is adding to a more ‘lax’ approach,” she says.
“Advertisers should be aware of legislation and community standards applicable to their sector and locality. As more users adopt social media, more eyes are on your brand and potential exposures are easily avoidable through a reasonable test measure.”
For full article, see SmartCompany
