White Fox Boutique has been slapped with an Ad Standards breach after a TikTok video spruiking its festival house featured women competing to get each other as drunk as possible – and the brand did not respond when the advertising watchdog told them to take down the content.
The ad, which ran on TikTok, showed several women declaring their "missions" for the day. Among them: getting a friend "as drunk as possible," downing as many tequila shots as possible, and bracing not to vomit after being forced to drink by another participant.
A complaint was lodged arguing the content was wildly inappropriate given White Fox's well-documented pull with teenage audiences. The Ad Standards community panel agreed.
The panel found the ad normalised excessive alcohol consumption through its repeated references to binge drinking and vomiting, ruling it contrary to prevailing community standards on health and safety – a breach of section 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics.
The brand's youth appeal was central to the panel's concern. While TikTok's platform assumptions place most viewers above 16, the panel was quick to point out that Australia's legal drinking age is 18, leaving a meaningful window of underage exposure for a brand with White Fox's reach.
White Fox did not respond to the complaint, the panel, or the breach finding. The ad has now been referred to TikTok.