Bulgarian Winery Slapped Hefty Fine for 'Tricking' Consumers

Spirits and wine producer Vinprom Peshtera has been fined over the branding of some its similar products. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian wine and spirits producer Vinprom Peshtera and four advertising agencies have been fined by the Competition Protection Commission.

The watchdog slapped on the five firms a combined fine of BGN 450 000 over TV ads of alcoholic beverages deluding the consumers by making them hard to distinguish from other very similar products of the same producer, Vinprom Peshtera.

The fined advertising agencies are McCann Erickson Sofia, Archer Ideas, Camera, and SIA-Lovech.

The ads of the following alcoholic drinks – Flirt Tease, Black Ran, and Peshteryaka – broadcast on the two largest private national channels bTV and Nova TV – are very similar to the ads of Vodka Flirt, Black Ram whiskey, and Rakia “Peshtera”. Flirt Tease and Black Ran are actually low-alcohol cocktails, while “Peshteryaka” is a brand of wine.

According to the Competition Protection Commission, the plot, characters, and contents of the advertising videos trick the consumers into failing to distinguish between the different products.

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