Switch Energy Drink Ad Slammed For Trivialising Drinking And Driving After ARB Rules It Socially Harmful

Socially harmful

A consumer complaint argued that the phrase trivialised behaviour that is illegal, socially harmful, and a major contributor to South Africa’s high rate of road fatalities. The complainant noted that even though Switch is a non-alcoholic drink, the wording is universally understood to refer to drunk driving.

Said the complainant: “The explicit wording normalises and makes light of drinking and driving, which is universally understood as referring to alcohol consumption before driving.”

In the ad, a TV anchor interviews a competition winner who repeatedly blurts out that “drinking and driving is awesome” after drinking a Switch Energy Drink and winning a new car. Although the reporter immediately pushes back — telling viewers not to drink and drive — the ARB found that the humorous tone and storyline still leave viewers with a positive association between drinking, driving and winning prizes.

Tongue-in-cheek

Switch Energy Drink argued that the ad is clearly tongue-in-cheek, that the brand is well known as non-alcoholic, and that the ultimate message encourages people to choose a safer alternative.

"The Advertiser points out that later in the Advertisement, when the man states that “drinking and driving is awesome”, the reporter immediately recognises that this could be problematic if taken out of context, so she expresses her disagreement, telling the audience to disregard what has been said. She also expressly asks the audience not to drink and drive.

"The Advertiser also notes that in all instances where the man references drinking and driving, he highlights that he was drinking Switch, which the Advertiser says is a well-known brand in South Africa, and the majority of consumers and viewers of the advertisement know that Switch is a non-alcoholic product," said the ARB on their response.

But the ARB rejected this, saying the commercial does not make that intention clear enough. The regulator noted that consumers often process ads superficially, and that any mixed message about drinking and driving is unacceptable given the country’s severe drunk-driving crisis.

The ARB concluded that the advert fails to meet the required standards of honesty and social responsibility. The complaint was upheld, and ARB members have been instructed not to air or publish the commercial unless it is amended — specifically removing the problematic line.