A consumer from the state of Santa Catarina, in Brazil, made a complaint to CONAR (the Brazilian National Council for Advertising Self-regulation) against an advertisement posted on social media by the beer company SKOL called "SOS SKOL - APERTOU, CHEGOU, MARATONOU" ("SOS SKOL – YOU PLAY, IT ARRIVES, YOU MARATHON").
The consumer disapproved the ad for its alleged association between alcohol and sports and for showing a refrigerator entirely occupied by beer cans, suggesting excessive consumption. Both practices are disapproved by the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation in its Annex P, concerning the advertising of low alcoholic beverages.
In their defense, the advertiser explained that the purpose of the ad was to promote a delivery service. They explained the use of the "marathon" neologism, a Brazilian slang that means the same as "binge-watching", with no real connection to the Marathon, and denied any encouragement of overconsumption.
The advertising piece uses the verb "to marathon" in the sense of "binge-watching" in a very clear manner, including allusions to the Spanish TV show "La casa de papel" ("Money Heist") – extremely popular in Brazil – by making the video's two main characters wear similar clothes to those worn by the TV show's characters and by making them sing a song in Portunhol (a mix of Portuguese and Spanish).
CONAR accepted the defense's explanations. Nevertheless, CONAR also asked for the alteration of the advertisement in order to explain more accurately how one can access the advertised delivery service, which is done through an app.
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