Heineken UK’s Kronenbourg’s advert for 1664 carried the headline “From the country that believes in the lunch (two and a half) hour.”
Accompanying text read: “The French are famous for many things, hurrying isn’t one of them. So naturally a beer from Strasbourg, Eastern France, is made rather slowly.”
“From a patient approach to hop growing, to the delicate handling of the drying procedure, not one part of the brewing process is rushed. Make sure the drinking process is the same.”
However, the single complainant who objected to the advert said it misleadingly implied that Kronenbourg 1664 was brewed in France, rather than the UK.
Heineken said the aim of the ad was to highlight the French heritage and origin of Kronenbourg 1664, but the ASA upheld the complaint.
The watchdog said the accompanying text implied that the whole process of making the beer took place in Eastern France, and that the advert was therefore misleading.