BrewDog, a UK-based beer company whose adverts often court controversy, has had an ad banned for suggesting its fruit-flavoured beers counted as "one of your five-a-day”.
The brewer said it was "tongue-in-cheek" but the advertising watchdog said it risked misleading consumers.
Past BrewDog's campaigns have backfired. Last month it was heavily criticised for launching an "anti-sponsorship" World Cup campaign while continuing to show matches at its bars.
Government guidelines recommend people eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day to remain healthy, however this does not include alcoholic drinks, even if they have a high fruit content.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that many consumers would not have known that for sure when BrewDog sent them a marketing email in July with the five-a-day claim in the subject line.
BrewDog argued that the email was only sent to existing customers who had opted in to email alerts and would have been aware of its playful marketing style. But the regulator said the advert cannot appear again in its current form and warned BrewDog not to repeat the claim.
"We respect the Advertising Standards Authority's decision and are happy to confirm that beer is not a fruit or a vegetable. We hope that sorts it out,” said a BrewDog spokesman.
This is not BrewDog's first run-in with the ASA.
Last year, the Scottish brewer offered shoppers the chance to find a gold can worth £15,000 hidden in cases sold from its online store.
But some winners complained to the ASA after they discovered the cans were not solid gold, but were gold-plated instead.
The regulator banned the adverts with BrewDog boss James Watt admitting the firm had got the campaign "wrong".
