Government Considers Clampdown On Alcohol Advertising
The Government is planning to crack down on alcohol advertising with a public education campaign specifically designed to combat the growing problems posed by alco-pops and other products targeted at younger drinkers.
The new public education programme, which will from part of the forthcoming National Health Strategy, follows the drawn-out battle against the advertising of tobacco, which eventually resulted in a ban earlier this year. Many consumer groups believe it is only a matter of time before the advertising of alcohol faces a similar ban.
Meanwhile, the industry’s self regulatory body, The Portman Group, has been flexing its muscles in a bid to ward off Government intervention. Last month in a landmark ruling, the group upheld a complaint against FCUK Spirit, judging that it appealed too strongly to under age drinkers. As a result, the product will be withdrawn from sale and retailers will be banned from stocking it.
The Portman Group has also pledged to place pressure on alcohol advertisers to promote the message of “sensible drinking” in their ads. However, campaigners against the advertising of alcohol claim this is impossible and that the majority of ads link drinking with sexual or social status, as opposed to the realities of intoxication.
The World Health Organisation (WTO) has also questioned the morality of advertising alcohol, particularly in relation to adolescents, stating: “All children and adolescents have the right to grow up in an environment protected from the negative consequences of alcohol consumption and, to the extent possible, from the promotion of alcoholic beverages.”
According to the WTO, each of its member states should: “Implement strict controls, recognising existing limitations or bans in some countries, on direct and indirect advertising of alcoholic beverages and ensure that no form of advertising is specifically addressed to young people, for example through the linking of alcohol to sports.”
However, the Advertising Association feels the current restrictions on alcoholic beverages are strict enough and claims those that argue against the advertising of alcohol are misguided. It states: “There is no relationship between responsible brand advertising in the alcoholic drinks sector and the misuse of the product itself. The causal factors related to alcohol abuse are many. They include social, economic, demographic and perhaps genetic influences upon which brand advertising has little or no impact.”
The marketing of alcoholic drinks has become even more competitive over the past five years, due to the “category drinking” phenomenon, whereby a consumer sticks to one kind of drink, having virtually disappeared.
Alongside the increasing competition in the market, it is understood that alcohol consumption has been gradually falling over the past five years. Leading cultural critic, Jean Kilbourne, claims that in an attempt to combat this, the alcohol industry has been directly targeting groups that have traditionally been lighter drinkers.
In the US Cosmopolitan recently promoted its readers to the alcohol industry which a campaign in the trade press, which stated: “Cosmopolitan readers drank 21,794,000 glasses of beer in the last week.”
Alcohol action groups have argued that the aggressive marketing utilised by new brands is encouraging excessive drinking. The increased saturation of the market is likely to cause further calls for an end to alcohol advertising.
Portman Group: 020 7907 3700 www.portman-group.org.uk
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