Fuller's ad cleared after RFU complaint

A Fuller's advert has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a complaint from the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

The ad featured a pint of London Pride and was headlined "Once more into the breach, dear friends once more" and below the text was the statement "Support English Rugby".

The RFU complained that the ad implied that London Pride was an official sponsor of the English rugby team — a position which Greene King holds.

However, the ASA dismissed the complaint and accepted Fuller's response that it did not claim to be the "official partner" or "official sponsor".

The ASA said: "We considered that readers were unlikely to be misled into thinking that Fullers were an official sponsor or partner of the England rugby team. They would expect an advertiser to state if they were an official sponsor and the ad did not claim that Fullers were.

"We also considered that the text 'Support English Rugby' was not misleading, because Fullers did support English rugby as a sport and had done for several years.

"We concluded that the ad was not misleading and did not take unfair advantage of the reputation of the England rugby team."