Red Bull ad banned from Tube stations for suggesting drink improved concentration and energy levels

A Red Bull advert has been banned for implying the energy drink can increase focus and concentration.

Posters on the London Underground suggested the caffeinated drink could help workers finish work and leave by 4pm.

One said: “The secret to finishing early ... Because to leap every hurdle a hectic day brings, you just need to know: Red Bull gives you wiiings ... For a flying 4pm finish on 14th September visit Redbull.co.uk/4pmfinish.”

A reader complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), saying the ad implied the drink had a beneficial effect on health, in particular focus and concentration.

Upholding the complaint, the ASA said the ad’s tone was light-hearted but presented a scenario of being overwhelmed or busy at work that would be familiar and relatable to consumers.

Red Bull said the ad promoted the 4pm finish “consumer initiative”, which encouraged workers to leave one hour early on Friday 14 September.

It said the ad did not suggest the drink delivered a health benefit, made people better at doing their job through increased concentration or focus, or had any health benefit at all.

The ASA said: “While we understood that the ad was intended to be part of a marketing initiative aimed at encouraging consumers to improve their productivity and leave at 4pm on a specific day, we considered that the penultimate line of the poem, ‘to leap every hurdle a hectic day brings’, implied that Red Bull could help improve consumers’ mental focus, concentration and energy levels, and therefore increase productivity.”

It said consumers would understand the ad implied a relationship between a food and health, specifically that Red Bull could help increase mental focus, concentration and energy levels, claims that were not authorised on the EU Register.

It ruled the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: “We told Red Bull not to imply that Red Bull could increase focus and concentration when those claims were not authorised on the EU Register.”