Irish TikTok star has video banned after downing cocktails at bar

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has ordered that a video in which a Northern Irish influencer downed a number of alcoholic drinks in quick succession must not appear again online.

A video of the TikTok personality Danielle Walsh, known by her danniwalsh123 handle, who has over 400,000 followers, showed her drinking four cocktails in a clip deemed to have been an ad by the advertising watchdog in the UK.

In the clip, Danielle says: “So for pres [sic] tonight, let me show you what we’re drinking. We’re going to do four in one, because we’re getting lit tonight.”

She then made four cocktails, using different flavours of the VK alcopop brand mixed with spirits including vodka, peach schnapps, Amaretto and whiskey liqueur, which were free poured into the glasses. After making each drink, she stated, “Let’s try it!” and quickly drank each drink. On-screen images of recipes for each cocktail appeared as they were made, which included the name of the cocktail, its ingredients, and featured the VK logo.

The ASA has deemed the clip an ad although it was not clearly marked as such by the TikTok star. Global Brands Ltd t/a VK confirmed that they had provided Danielle Walsh with the alcoholic drinks used in the ad, in return for her promotion of their brand via her TikTok channel.

They explained that they had asked Ms Walsh to create a series of videos which showed the creation of each cocktail, rather than one video in which four cocktails were made and consumed. They say they had stipulated that their products should be promoted in a responsible manner, and had asked to approve the videos prior to their publication.

They said that had not happened, however, and that Ms Walsh had posted the videos without their final approval. VK accepted that the video should have been clearly labelled as an ad. They said they had asked Ms Walsh’s agent to remove the video on several occasions, but their requests had not been acknowledged.

Danielle Walsh said that VK had not paid her for the post, and said she would remove the video while it was under investigation.

The complaints against the video were upheld. The ASA said: "The video opened with Danielle Walsh stating, 'So for pres tonight, let me show you what we’re drinking.' The ASA understood that “pres” was a reference to “pre-drinking” or “pre-drinks”, the practice of consuming alcohol at home before going out to a pub, bar or club, where further alcohol would be consumed. We understood that pre-drinking was often intended to achieve intoxication prior to attending a licensed venue and, as such, we considered that referencing “pres” in the ad implied that alcohol was going to be consumed in excessive amounts."

"Ms Walsh then stated, 'We’re going to do four in one, because we’re getting lit tonight.' We understood that the word 'lit' had a long history of being used as a slang term for being drunk," their ruling added.

The decision continued: "As the video continued Ms Walsh made a series of cocktails using alcoholic VK products mixed with spirits such as vodka, peach schnapps, amaretto and whiskey liqueur. She did not measure any of the ingredients in the drinks, free pouring the alcohol throughout. We noted that the volume of “mixer”, the non-alcoholic component of a mixed drink, in each cocktail was minimal.

"We considered that by free pouring the amount of alcohol in each cocktail, the ad depicted alcohol being served irresponsibly. Furthermore, Ms Walsh quickly drank each cocktail after making it, consuming all four drinks in under 90 seconds, which demonstrated that excessive amounts of alcohol had been consumed over a short space of time.

"Because the ad encouraged excessive drinking and depicted alcohol being handled and served irresponsibly we concluded that it was irresponsible, and therefore breached the Code.

"On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 18.1 and 18.11 (Alcohol)."

The video also breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1, 2.3 and 2.4 (Recognition of marketing communications) as it was not clearly marked as an ad. While Ms Walsh had said she was not paid for the video, the ASA found: "VK had confirmed in their response to the ASA that they had provided her with the products free of charge in return for her promotion of their brand, which we considered constituted payment."

The ASA finally stated that "the ad must not appear again in the form complained of."

"We told Global Brands Ltd t/a VK and Danielle Walsh to ensure that their future ads did not encourage excessive consumption of alcohol, or feature alcohol being served irresponsibly. We also told VK and Ms Walsh to ensure that future ads were obviously identifiable as such, for example by including a clear and prominent identifier, such as “AD”."