Diageo Apologizes For Influencing The Outcome Of Awards It Sponsored
Diageo has issued an apology for what it called an "error of judgement" after smaller rival competitor, BrewDog, bluntly accused the multinational spirits producer of influencing the outcome of awards that it competed in and Diageo paid to sponsor. The brew-ha stems from this past Sunday's British Institute of Innkeeping Scottish Awards where BrewDog was up for 'Bar Operator of the Year.'
According to the BrewDog blog, award officials told them that "Diageo (the main sponsor) approached us at the start of the meal and said under no circumstances could the award be given to BrewDog. They said if this happened they would pull their sponsorship from all future BII events and their representatives would not present any of the awards on the evening."
The ensuring PR fiasco is an unpleasant reminder to sponsors and properties to maintain a clear separation of sponsorship and editorial influence.
