WESTERN BUREAU – Promoters of the “Tipsy” party scheduled for July 2 in Montego Bay will have to spend an estimated $40,000 to reprint flyers after J Wray and Nephew, producers Appleton Jamaica Rum, objected to the use of their brand logo and the slogan, “drink irresponsibly” on the promoters’ original set of flyers.

Neil Barnes, who has responsibility for the promotions, told the Observer last Friday that he and his team would be moving immediately to make the necessary changes to the flyers.

“We have really gone out of our way to ensure we help correct the mistake,” Barnes said, adding that it would cost them about US$300 to get the flyers printed, US$200 to have them shipped and JA$10,000 to have them cleared.

Despite the cost, Barnes said that having had dialogue with J Wray and Nephew’s loss prevention manager, Clive McCarthy, they would do whatever it took to correct the error.

“I never thought that the ‘drink irresponsibly’ thing would affect them at all… We apologise to everybody who was upset by it. I had no idea it would have affected anybody like this. We had no idea,” he said.

McCarthy said once the flyers are corrected and Barnes issues a press release that makes it clear that J Wray and Nephew has no part in the show or the message to drink irresponsibly, the company would not take legal action.

“I have spoken to them and they said they are willing to do anything to right the wrong,” McCarthy said.

“Our legal officer will be sending them a draft of a total retraction because we do not want to be associated with that sort of advertising – activities like “drink irresponsibly” – and we did not give them permission to use our brand logo.”

According to the company’s on-trade sales manager Kevin Bourke, their brand logo is often used without permission.

And while that is frowned upon, the ‘drink irresponsibly’ message was just too much to let slide.

“For them (to say) on their flyer, “drink irresponsibly”, that was the kicker,” Bourke told the Observer.

“We spent a lot of years building the name of Appleton Jamaica Rum and we take it very seriously that our brand is represented in things we approve of… You can’t just use our logo at any old party…”