UPDATE: Early reports indicated that Woolworths would need to remove its entire range indefinitely, but instead it will only need to repackage its products and remove the slogan: “Good Old Fashioned”. You can read the full Advertising Standards Authority report by following this link.

Woolworths must remove its retro soft drinks, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled. Frankies Olde Soft Drink Company CEO, Mike Schmidt, has today revealed the small beverage manufacturer has won its case against the larger retailer.

Late last year, Frankies Olde Soft Drink Company, complained that a product sold by Woolworths closely resembled its own, and that their concept had been copied.

In response, Woolworths claimed the allegations were groundless, issuing a statement asserting that retro drinks were not a new concept and it did not infringe on any copyright or intellectual property.

The matter went before the Advertising Standards Authority board, and although the official ruling had not yet been publicly released, Frankies CEO, Mike Schmidt tweeted the following a short while ago:

Schmidt’s tweet was preceded by one from Bruce Whitfield, who presents The Money Show on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk:

#Frankies CEO tells me ASA has ruled in their favour. @woolwothssa must remove retro drinks – and I have no voice to tell the flipping story

Schmidt further stated:

They are also not allowed to produce the range in its current guise ever again.

Schmidt explained the ruling stated that the ASA could come to no other conclusion other than that Woolworths had intentionally copied the Frankies slogan and subsequently, they have been instructed to withdraw their products from their shelves immediately.

UPDATE: Woolworths has subsequently released the following statement on their Facebook page:

Hi everyone, we’ve received the ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA has ruled that we must remove the phrase “Good Old Fashioned” from our vintage soda range labels.

Frankie’s complained to the ASA about our use of the phrase “Good Old Fashioned”.

Obviously we are disappointed by the decision as we genuinely believed that “Good Old Fashioned” was a common phrase used in everyday conversation. Vintage drinks remain a global trend. Of course we will abide by the findings of the ASA and remove the phrase from our vintage soda labels.

[Source: BruceWhitfield, MoneyWeb]