The social media posts for The Muff Liquor Company, of which Whitmore is an investor, feature her drinking a "Muff & tonic" while her dancing becomes increasingly energetic.
Social media posts from Laura Whitmore about a gin and vodka brand have been banned for not being clearly marked as adverts and implying that alcohol can increase confidence and enhance mood.
The TikTok and Instagram posts for Irish owned The Muff Liquor Company, of which Whitmore is an investor featured Whitmore drinking a number of non-alcoholic drinks followed by a “Muff & tonic”, while her dancing became increasingly energetic.
The text on screen stated “#MakemineaMuff” and “If drinks were dance moves @muffliquorco #makemineamuff #muffboss #irishowned”.
After complaints regarding the posts, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: “Whilst we acknowledged that the ads were presented in a light-hearted tone, nonetheless we considered that consumers would interpret the ads to mean that drinking alcohol could precipitate a change in an individual’s behaviour and could enhance an individual’s confidence.”
The ASA also said the posts should have been clearly marked as ads. The Muff Liquor Company responded to the controversy by asking Whitmore to remove the ads once they were made aware of them but pointed out that although she was a shareholder, she hadn’t been paid for these specific ads.
They have since vowed to review any ads involving their product before Whitmore posts to social media.
The ASA also said that nearly 3% of the former Love Island host’s 1.6 million social media followers were under 18 , and therefore understood that the product had not been inappropriately targeted to under-18s.
