US: Clinton Urged To Take Action

The Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS) has sent a letter to President Bill Clinton, asking him to bring together the broadcasting and alcoholic beverage industries, in order to develop and agree a common code of practice for alcohol advertising. The move comes in the context of Clinton’s recent pressure on spirits’ producers to desist from advertising their products on US television. Seagram, the producer that was first to break the self-imposed 48-year-old advertising ban, has already said that it will not comply with Clinton’s request.

This follows a speech by Reed Hundt, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at the annual National Association of Broadcasters’ Convention, on 8 April. Hundt called on broadcasters to develop a code that would regulate spirits’ advertising on TV. “Keeping liquor [spirits] ads off TV is the right thing to do…it’s also the prudent thing to do. By keeping such ads off, broadcasters improve their brand name.”