Hennessy cognac lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority, accusing the Irish whiskey company of stealing its ad concept and belittling its brand.
In Hennessy's advert, a handsome and successful black man arrives at an awards event in a German luxury car, before accepting an award and celebrating with a drink.
In Jameson's ad for its Select Reserve whiskey the main character, in somewhat similar fashion, accepts an award at a swanky event and celebrates with a drink.
The voice-over, however, hints that the man is a fake: "Look at this guy. Who is he kidding? Come on, we all know he's an actor. He's pretending."
The man's award, luxury vehicle and girlfriend are then stripped away and he is revealed to be an actor on a film set. The voice-over continues: "Take away his award, his car, his girlfriend. What does he have left? Character, that's what."
Hennessy accused Jameson of copying its "crafted and original intellectual thought", on which it had spent more than R23-million broadcasting on local television.
The cognac brand also claimed that Jameson ridiculed the main character in its ad, saying that he was a "fake".
"There is also a subliminal message that only drinkers of Jameson have real character and that all other whiskey [or] spirit drinkers are shallow," it said.
But the ASA agreed with Jameson that the narrative in Hennessy's ad is not a "signature" of the brand and that many other products targeting affluent consumers used the same concept.
The ASA said that though the ads had similarities, Hennessy's ad focused on the external manifestation of success, while Jameson's ad spoke of the person's character regardless of his success.
Local Hennessy brand manager Michael Ellingworth had not responded to a request for comment by the time of going to print.
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