Complaints against Tayto’s social media upheld by ASAI

The ASAI has upheld complaints against Irish crisp brand Tayto's social media postsMrTayto / Facebook

Two complaints about the Irish crisp brand's posts to social media have been upheld by the ASAI

Complaints against the Irish crisp brand Tayto and their posts on social media have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.

In their latest bulletin, the ASAI revealed that Largo Foods, the owner of Tayto, was subject to two complaints regarding the Tayto's posts on Facebook.

The two complaints said the posts on the Tayto Facebook page were “targeting children” and “encouraged excessive and irresponsible consumption of the product.”

The ASAI bulletin pointed to three separate Tayto posts on Facebook that were in question:

Post 1:

An image of two open suitcases full of Tayto crisps packets. Behind the suitcases were stacked boxes of Tayto crisps. The post was captioned with the following:

"Monday musing: "Just have one...SAID NOONE EVER"

Post 2:

An image of a broken Easter egg and an open Tayto crisp packet with the cracked egg containing some of the crisps. The post was captioned with the following:

“I'm still working my way through the Easter chocolate & I'm trying out some flavoursome combinations! First up is... Dark chocolate and Cheese & Onion (Don't knock it until you've tried it!). Anyone with me?”

Post 3:

An image of a sharing pack of Tayto Mighty Munch was captioned with the following:

"#CrispPicOfTheDay - A sound spud just sent me this pic. He said he's not sharing! Who would :)"

Largo Food responded to the ASAI saying that they “engage in responsible marketing of their range and support industry initiatives which seek to limit the exposure of children to inappropriate advertising.”

In response to the first complaint, Largo Food said their Facebook audience on their Tayto page is 98.7 percent made up of people over than 18 years old.

In response to the second complaint, Largo Food said that “they used Facebook to engage with Tayto fans in a lighthearted manner and that the tone of their posts were intended to be entertaining, supportive or motivating.”

They added that “the subject matter was rarely serious and the interaction of fans on the page was generally positive,” and that the caption and images were “intended to be fun and entertaining.”

Ultimately, the ASAI only upheld the complaints against the first and third posts and said: “Post 1 and Post 3 must be withdrawn or amended. Care must be taken when creating marketing communications to avoid the encouragement of excess consumption.”

Elsewhere in the latest ASAI bulletin, complaints against a nightclub and an e-cigarette company's posts on social media were also upheld.

Do you agree or disagree with the ASAI's decision to uphold the complaints against Tayto? Let us know in the comments

Complaints lodged against Tayto's social media posts upheld

Two complaints about the Irish crisp brand's posts to social media have been upheld by the ASAI