Key Summary
- Lipton Ice Tea ran an April Fools' campaign claiming their Peach flavor was being discontinued
- Lipton defended the campaign as a light-hearted joke, but the ASA ruled it was misleading advertising
- Lipton has acknowledged the mistake and promised to be more careful with future campaigns
Lipton Ice Tea’s playful April Fools’ campaign has earned them something a little less refreshing than laughs – a slap on the wrist from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
In a ruling published today, the ASA upheld complaints about Lipton’s March social media posts that falsely claimed its popular Peach flavour was being discontinued. The posts, shared on Instagram and TikTok, featured a winged can of Peach Lipton and the dramatic headline “REST IN PEACH,” prompting panic among peach tea devotees.
“Who’s joining my peach support group?” the Instagram caption read, adding fuel to the faux tragedy.
But the ASA wasn’t amused. In its assessment, the watchdog said the campaign was likely to mislead consumers, who might rush to buy the drink fearing it would soon vanish from shelves – which it wasn’t.
PepsiCo, which owns Lipton Tea, defended the campaign as a “light-hearted April Fools’ joke,” arguing that the tone – along with puns like “RIPeach” and “Rest in Peach” – made the humorous intent obvious. They pointed out that the top comment on the post, “THIS BETTER BE A JOKE,” racked up over 60,000 likes, supposedly showing fans were in on it.
But crucially, the ASA noted, those clarifying comments came from users – not the brand. And the campaign was posted nearly two weeks before April 1st, making the joke’s timing as ambiguous as its intent.
Besides, the comment section featured comments which suggested consumers were unclear on whether or not the ad was a joke, or serious, the watchdog added.
While the ASA recognised that the ads “featured some elements of humour,” it said those elements were “not sufficient to make it clear that the statements about discontinuation were a joke.”
Cue the ASA’s final verdict: misleading advertising.
Lipton has since acknowledged the mishap and promised to be more careful with future campaigns.
Retailers may not need to rush to clear peach cans off the shelves, but the incident serves as a timely reminder for brands: April Fools’ stunts may be funny – just not if your customers fall for them a little too hard.
This isn’t the first time Lipton has faced scrutiny from the ad watchdog. In January 2022, the ASA also upheld a complaint against the brand over a misleading claim about plastic recycling.