Take Courage beer ad banned

A poster for Courage beer carrying the iconic strapline "Take Courage my friend" has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The poster, which used the original strapline from advertising in the 1950s, showed a nervous man sitting on a sofa with a glass and a can. A woman stood behind him in a figure hugging dress with the sales label still attached.

Three members of the public complained that the poster implied that the beer would give the man confidence or "Dutch courage" to either make negative comments about the woman's appearance or take advantage of her.

Courage brewer Wells & Youngs argued the strapline was a call to action to choose Courage over other beer brands.

It said that the poster implied the man would rather be elsewhere and that market research had shown that people did not think the poster implied giving the man courage or boosting his confidence.

However, the ASA ruled the poster breached its code. "We considered that the combination of the text and the image of the man with an open beer can and half empty glass of beer was likely to be understood by consumers to carry the clear implication that the beer would give the man enough confidence to tell the woman that the dress was unflattering.

"We did not consider that consumers generally would believe that the poster suggested that the man would be unnecessarily negative or take advantage of the woman, but would simply tell the truth."