Roxxoff to relaunch despite blacklisting

by Ewan Turney

Controversial RTD Roxxoff is set to re-launch despite being blacklisted by the Portman Group under its Code of Practice.

Roxxoff was banned by Portman in July 2003 prior to its official launch after the drinks watchdog ruled its name was a play on the phrase "get your rocks off", which the panel felt had clear sexual connotations.

In a first for the Portman Group, it also found the website breached the code as it boasted that the drink contained "herbal libido boosters" that would create "a race of randy super-beings".

Having seen its attempts to launch in Britain scuppered, Roxxoff sought an international market and has become a relative success in 18 countries.

"We have carried out several independent surveys and found that 85% of people do not make a link to sex from the name of the product," said press officer Chris Chaplin.

"We are not promoting this in the off-trade but only in pubs and clubs where people should be 18 anyway. They are old enough to vote and fight for their country but apparently not to make their own decision on our drink."

The company is considering whether to take legal action against Portman for restriction of trade, although this is unlikely to happen if the re-launch is a success.

Chaplin added: "The name actually refers to the character on the bottle. Why should four or five people decide what everyone else will think?"

A spokeswoman for the Portman Group said: "We are in discussions with the distributor about the re-launch, but it is still in breach of the code because its name has not changed."