The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) found Dewar’s in violation of Provision 24 of the Code of Responsible Practices for its sexist “Meet the Baron” advertisements.
UPDATE: READ DISCUS BOARD HERE
Dewar’s launched a “Meet the Baron” TV commercial series that drew international attention for its sexist and degrading nature. In addition to calling it misogynistic, I wrote it likely violated DISCUS Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage of Alcohol Advertising and Marketing. My blog post was cited in Business Insider, Media Bistro and other outlets, while McInnis was working the phones talking to radio and television media.
McInnis filed a formal complaint with DISCUS, whose Board met yesterday and ruled: ‘… regarding the “Meet the Baron’ advertisement and found that video in violation of the Responsible Content Provision No. 24 of the DISCUS Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage Alcohol Advertising and Marketing. As you are aware, the advertiser already had removed the video from the digital medium where it was posted….”
Indeed, Dewar’s took the ad down and likely cost them millions in media buys, advertising talent and marketing strategies. But, why was this ad approved in the first place?