Bulmers blunder sees company advertise its cider with picture of teetotal Methodist clergyman who campaigned against alcohol

Firm's picture of CH Bulmer turned out to be a photo of Hugh Price-Hughes

A methodist clergyman, Price-Hughes was dedicated to helping alcoholics

Bulmers' owner Heineken to apologise with donation to Methodist church



Bulmers' blunder: This is the advert featuring Methodist clergyman Hugh Price-Hughes, a lifelong teetotaller who campaigned against alcohol

Executives at cider brand Bulmers have admitted that they blundered by advertising the drink with a picture of a teetotal Victorian vicar who campaigned against alcohol.

The Hereford-based drinksmaker thought it had found a photograph of Reverend CH Bulmer, who gave his sons the money to start up the business 120 years ago.

Next to the black and white picture was the slogan: 'We hope he'd be proud.'

But the man in the picture, had he known what it was being used for, would almost certainly not have been proud.

It turns out the photograph was of Hugh Price-Hughes, a Methodist clergyman, who devoted his life to helping alcoholics.

Born in Camarthen in 1847, Price-Hughes worked as a minister in various circuits, founding new churches wherever he went.

He was the founder of the Methodist Times and while superintendent of the Brixton (London) circuit he launched the Wesleyan Forward Movement.

That organisation which was behind the construction of many of the big city Methodist missions that still stand today.

The mistake was spotted after Heineken, who own Bulmers, spent tens of thousands of pounds on the advertising campaign.

But after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was told of the blunder the company scrapped the advertisements and posters.

The gaffe comes after the watchdog dismissed a separate complaint relating to a television advert for Bulmers which one viewer said implied 'the success of a social occasion was always dependent on alcohol'.

Close to the wire: The gaffe came after the ASA dismissed another complaint against Bulmers for an advert which one viewer said implied 'the success of a social occasion was always dependent on alcohol'

The advert showed a night out in reverse, with a group of friends drinking Bulmers at various points during the evening and particularly the beginning.

Teetotal: Hugh Price-Hughes was the founder of the Methodist Times and the Wesleyan Forward Movement, which built many Methodist missions

A voiceover said: 'We don’t have a master plan, so we don’t know where the night will take us. But one thing is certain. It will begin with a Bulmers.'

The Drinks Business reported the ASA as saying: 'While we considered it was clear that the characters in the ad intended to drink alcohol, we noted the product was shown on only a few occasions and that the characters did not appear to behave as though they had consumed alcohol irresponsibly.



'We considered the ad did not imply the success of the social occasions was dependent on the consumption of alcohol and therefore concluded that it did not breach the Code.'



A company spokesman said of the latest adverts: 'We fully appreciated the distress caused by using the wrong image.'