Virgin Holidays latest poster campaign has been banned for glamorising alcohol.

The ad, which features rock stars drinking champagne in a jacuzzi was the next stage of the tour operators “Rockstar” campaign and showed a number of empty bottles and glasses around the jacuzzi.

One complaint against the ad stated that the way alcohol was portrayed by Virgin Holidays was wrong, but the holiday company defended the images saying the campaign focused on ridiculous desires being met.

Virgin Holiday argued that the ad which was created by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy, emphasised request rather than drinking. They said that the image of a jacuzzi filled with champagne was purely an example of “an extremely outlandish and decadent request” which was exaggerated to promote the level of service Virgin Holidays provide.

However, as reported by marketing news website Marketing Week the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated that “rock stars were widely accepted as glamorous and exciting figures” and that the scene in the advert depicted them in an environment where alcohol was a prominent feature.

According to the ASA, the image clearly implied that the characters had been drinking and were heavily under the influence of alcohol, judging by the number of bottles in the scene. The authority decided that the ad “indicated a casual attitude towards the handling and consumption of alcohol.”

It ruled that the advert must not appear again and warned Virgin Holidays to take more care when using alcohol in their advertising campaigns.

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