VIDEO | Conor McGregor Budweiser commercial has been banned from Ireland’s public broadcasting network

https://youtu.be/CFsCYRp9ndo

Budweiser has to be somewhat disappointed with their marketing execution with having Ireland’s biggest MMA star as their ambassador.

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s recent commercial for Budweiser has been banned by RTE, Ireland’s public broadcasting network. The ban is due to the commercial possibly encouraging a young audience to drink alcohol.

Paul Mulligan, Head of Operations, RTE Commercial Television said in a statement via the Irish Mirror: “RTE Television received finished commercials for Copy Clearance for Budweiser featuring Conor McGregor.

“RTE’s Clearance Committee, who are responsible for pre-vetting all commercials planned for broadcast on our services, responded that they had concerns whether the copy was compliant with the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) Code.”

That statement followed up with an affirmation from the ASAI.

“This complies with RTE’s initial view that the advertisement should not be broadcast and believes it took the correct and prudent action in not approving the commercials for broadcast on its Television services.”

According to The Sunday Business Post, RTE has guidelines for advertising and one thing that they deemed the commercial violated was marketing the alcohol brand with “heroes of the young,” with McGregor being considered the hero.

Despite their inability to get their commercial out on RTE, Budweiser states that they are still proud to be work with “The Notorious.” “Conor is an aspirational figure for people who wish to follow their dreams and ambitions,” the company said in a statement. “Based on independent statistics research, Conor McGregor has an overwhelming adult appeal.”

Conor McGregor is expected to get his chance to avenge his first loss in the UFC with a rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200 in July.