Ash Barty’s historic achievement at the Australian Open was widely celebrated by many but it appears that not everybody was happy with one of the ways the tennis star chose to celebrate.
The world No.1 defeated Danielle Collins to become the first home player to win the women’s title since 1978. Throughout the tournament she didn’t drop a single set en route to claiming her third major title at the age of 25.
During the trophy ceremony there were plenty of cheers and tears from those watching from the stands in the Rod Laver Arena. During the celebrations Barty was offered a beer by former player and friend Casey Dellacqua. On TV she opened the beer before saying “I’m a Corona girl” in reference to the brand she was drinking.
Whilst Barty’s beer drinking appears to be harmless fun, not everybody was happy with it. Astonishingly a complaint over Barty’s ‘behaviour’ was recently made to the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC). An agency who is responsible for content and placement of alcohol marketing in Australia.
In the letter, which was sent on January 31st, the tennis star is accused of ‘glorifying alcohol’ and taking part in a publicity stunt to promote Corona.
“There was a large, nicely presented display of Peroni and Corona beers in the TV interview with Ash Barty who just won the tennis final. The host asked the player which beer she would like. All panel members proceeded to drink the beers, mentioning the brand names whilst doing it,” the complaint reads.
“I think the segment glorified and glamorised alcohol and was very deceptive if it was indeed a paid promotion. Why else are they doing it if it wasn’t a paid stunt? It’s poor when many children were up watching the final and Ash Barty is a role model for many girls too.”
As part of its protocol, the ABAC had to conduct their own investigation into the matter due to the nature of the complaint. Carlton & United Breweries said that they do not have a commercial partnership relating to the promotion of products on Channel 9 during the broadcast of the women’s Australian Open final. Furthermore Peroni, who is the official beer partner of the Grad Slam, did not have an agreement related to product placement in post-match interviews.
“Given there is no such product placement arrangement in place, the interview does not meet the definition of a Marketing Communication under the ABAC.” A ruling outlined.
The watchdog also points out that “Not every reference to alcohol in everyday life is ‘alcohol marketing” as they dismissed the complaint. Furthermore, the video of Barty drinking a beer was at 9:30PM which is at a time where alcohol adverts are allowed to be broadcasted on TV.
“Many Australians enjoy drinking beer responsibly, and we reject the notion that depicting panellists taking moderate sips of beer on television in any way constitutes irresponsible or offensive behaviour,” the ABAC concludes.