A complaint against Chronic Cellars Space Doubt Zinfandel has been upheld by the alcohol industry’s Independent Complaints Panel (ICP), the full decision can be read here.
The complaint, made by Zenith Global Commercial Ltd, as part of the Portman Group’s independent proactive audit of the UK market[1], raised concerns that the term ‘chronic’ was associated with high-strength marijuana and that the name Space Doubt, was a play on words sounding similar to ‘spaced out’ which had an association with drug taking.
The Panel also considered whether the name of the product, Space Doubt, alongside the name of the producer, Chronic Cellars, could be in breach of Code Rule 3.2(b)for creating an association with illegal behaviour.
The producer argued that the name ‘Chronic’ was surfer lingo meaning ‘the best’ and that the surfer slang reflected the founders’ passion for surfing and the idea of selecting the best grapes to create exceptional wines The producer also explained that the name ‘Space Doubt’ was created to reflect the complexity and wonderment of the world, encouraging moments of contemplation with the double meaning reflecting on vineyard row spacing during replanting.
The Panel considered the meaning of the word ‘chronic’ and noted that, whilst it had a number of meanings including ‘persistent’ and ‘the best’, it could also refer to strong cannabis. Given the number of ways ‘chronic’ could be interpreted, the Panel considered how the word was presented in the wider context of the rest of the packaging.
The Panel considered the front label, including 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’ alongside it. The Panel noted that the packaging was absent of any reference to surfing to give context to the intended meaning of ‘Chronic’ as explained by the producer. The Panel noted that the brand name ‘Space Doubt’ sounded phonetically like ‘spaced out’, a phrase commonly used to infer impairment due to the effects of illicit drugs.
The Panel considered all of the elements of the packaging including the word ‘chronic’ in the context of being ‘spaced out’ and the positioning of the skeleton, which was sitting cross-legged in a relaxed pose staring into space, and concluded that whilst each element could have been acceptable in isolation, taken together they gave an overall impression of an association with illicit drugs. The Panel also considered that because the packaging created an association with illicit drugs and alluded to the effects of cannabis use, the product packaging also indirectly created an association with illegal behaviour. Accordingly, the complaint was upheld under Code Rules 3.2(c) and 3.2(b).
Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, Rachel Childs, said: “This case highlights how important it is to consider the overall impression conveyed by a product’s name and labelling when assessing compliance under the Code. Elements that may be acceptable in isolation can take on a different meaning when combined together. It’s important that producers take this into account when choosing a product name and designing associated labelling.”
[1] Part of the independent proactive audit of the Naming and Packaging of Alcoholic Drinks Code, Sixth Edition Amended