Producer:
WX Brands
Complainant:
Zenith Global Commercial Ltd (as part of the independent proactive audit of the Naming and Packaging of Alcoholic Drinks Code, Sixth Edition Amended)
Complaint:
“The term “chronic” is associated with high-strength marijuana. The wine is named “Space Doubt” which is a clever play on words sounding very similar to ‘Spaced Out’, which has a strong association with drug taking. This, when added to the text on the label “Space Doubt is your resident guy in the sky,” adds more emphasis to the allusion to illicit drugs, as to be ‘spaced out’ or ‘in the sky’ are synonyms for getting high”.
Decision:
Under Code paragraph 3.2(b)
A drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not in any direct or indirect way suggest any association with bravado, or with violent, aggressive, dangerous, anti-social or illegal behaviour
UPHELD
Under Code paragraph 3.2(c)
A drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not in any direct or indirect way suggest any association with, acceptance of, or allusion to, illicit drugs.
UPHELD
The company’s submission
The company acknowledged the concerns raised by Zenith Global regarding its wine ‘Chronic Cellars Space Doubt’ and expressed its commitment to responsible alcohol marketing. The company emphasised its dedication to promoting responsible drinking by including the UK Chief Medical Officers’ drinking guidelines and alcohol unit information on back labels, along with promoting the Drinkaware website. The company explained that Chronic Cellars was founded in California in 2004 and was a brand committed to making high-quality wine with a playful and unconventional approach. The company added that as a brand it used Californian slang and humour as part of its identity.
The company explained that the name ‘Chronic’ had been registered in the UK and EU and was surfer lingo which meant ‘the best’. The surfer slang reflected the founders’ passion for surfing and the idea of selecting the best grapes to create exceptional wines. The brand name was intended to represent quality and creativity, independent of its illustrations.
The company then explained that the brand name ‘Space Doubt’ was created to reflect the complexity and wonderment of the world, encouraging moments of contemplation. The company stated that the name carried a double meaning, combining the idea of ‘spaced out’ wonderment and the physical spacing of elements, inspired by the founders’ reflections on vineyard row spacing during replanting. The company explained that its brand emphasised whimsy and avoided literal illustrations, aligning with Chronic Cellars’ playful approach to wine labelling.
The Panel’s assessment
3.2(c)
The Panel discussed whether the drink’s name or packaging suggested any association with, acceptance of, or allusion to, illicit drugs as raised by the complainant. The Panel first considered the meaning of the word ‘chronic’ and how it would be interpreted by a UK consumer. The Panel noted the company’s response which explained that ‘chronic’ was surfer dialect used in California, where the company was based, to communicate that something was ‘the best’. The Panel discussed that in the UK, ‘chronic’ had a number of meanings including ‘persistent’ in the context of a medical ailment and ‘the best’, albeit the latter definition was more likely to be used by a younger generation. The Panel noted that ‘chronic’ could also refer to strong cannabis and this definition was prevalent in some subsections of society but was not universal across the whole of the UK. Given the number of ways chronic could be interpreted, the Panel noted that it was important to consider how the word was presented in the wider context of the rest of the packaging.
The Panel considered the front label which included the company name ‘Chronic Cellars’, a stylised image of a skeleton sitting on top of the Earth observing a planet and the brand name ‘Space Doubt’ positioned alongside it. The Panel noted that these elements were repeated on the back label alongside the romance copy which included the line ‘Space Doubt is your resident guy in the sky, always pondering on the best ways to get into far out mischief’. The Panel noted that the packaging was absent of any reference to surfing, surfing culture or surfing language to give context to the intended meaning of ‘Chronic’ as explained by the producer, rendering it open to interpretation. In light of this, the Panel discussed the brand name ‘Space Doubt’ and noted that it phonetically sounded like ‘spaced out’, a phrase commonly used to infer impairment due to the effects of illicit drugs. The Panel considered that ‘chronic’ in the context of being ‘spaced out’ reinforced the perception that the word ‘chronic’ was a reference to cannabis use in this particular context. The Panel then discussed the positioning of the skeleton which was sitting cross-legged in a relaxed pose staring into space. The Panel considered the pose and positioning of the character which suggested it was experiencing a surreal out-of-body experience akin to the effect of drugs and this was compounded by the inclusion of ‘Space Doubt’, ‘Chronic’ and references to a ‘guy in the sky’, all of which could refer to getting high.
Taking all of the above into account, the Panel stated that while each element could have been acceptable in isolation, the cumulative effect of all of them meant that the overall impression conveyed by the drink’s packaging did suggest an association with illicit drugs. Accordingly, the complaint was upheld under Code rule 3.2(c).
3.2(b)
Given its decision under Code rule 3.2(c), the Panel raised Code rule 3.2(b) for consideration to determine whether the packaging created an association with illegal behaviour. The Panel noted that the company was based in California and that the sale of recreational-use cannabis was legal in that state. However, the Panel considered that within the UK, cannabis was controlled as a class B drug and therefore it was illegal to possess it. The Panel considered that because the packaging created an association with illicit drugs, and alluded to the effect of cannabis use, the product packaging also indirectly created an association with illegal behaviour. On that basis, the Panel found that the packaging was also in breach of Code rule 3.2(b).
Action by Company:
Withdrawn from UK market.