Adverts from The Hive, Spiritualist, Slug and Lettuce and Lulu's banned for 'encouraging excessive drinking'

Four pubs in Scotland have been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for breaking strict alcohol rules by encouraging excessive drinking.

Three Instagram posts and a Facebook post made by Edinburgh nightclub The Hive have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which included text which read ‘Not only do I dance like nobody is watching, I also drink as if I don’t work in the morning’ and ‘Drinks from £1’.

City Clubs (Edinburgh), trading as The Hive, said they accepted that the posts were not socially responsible and had removed them.

The ASA noted that all the posts included a caption that gave the prices of drinks alongside details about events that were being held at The Hive.

It said: “We acknowledged that the ads were intended to be lighthearted. However, we considered they nonetheless condoned and encouraged excessive drinking and therefore were socially irresponsible and breached the Code.”

The ASA also banned a TikTok post for George Street nightclub Lulu, also in the capital, which featured clips of women holding drinks, having drinks poured from bottles of spirits into their mouths, and dancing while in a nightclub.

Montpeliers (Edinburgh), which trades as Lulu, accepted that some of the clips did not show responsible drinking and also acknowledged that some of the individuals featured in the post were not clearly over the age of 25.

In Glasgow, two posts on the Instagram account for cocktail bar The Spiritualist were banned for condoning and encouraging excessive drinking and featuring a person who appeared to be under 25.

Signature Pubs, trading as The Spiritualist, said the posts had been removed.

Finally, Facebook posts and an Instagram post for the Slug & Lettuce in Glasgow also featured people who appeared to be under 25 years old and encouraged excessive drinking, the regulator said.

Stonegate Pub Company, trading as the Slug & Lettuce, Glasgow acknowledged that the ads “possibly breached the Code” and said they had removed them.

They added that they were reviewing their other social media ads and would remove any that were similar.