Must do better

As the Government prepares to publish its report on alcohol policy, the drinks industry must demonstrate its responsible attitude towards advertising, says Joanne Hart

DRINKS ADVERTISING is big business.  Last year, more than £200 million was spent promoting alcoholic drinks on television, radio, posters and the press.  Some of the most wellknown and best remembered advertisements have had alcohol as their theme and both the drinks industry and the large global advertising agencies admit to the importance of strong and persistent campaigns over all media.

"This is a well-branded business in which advertising plays a large part," says Harry MacAuslan, deputy chairman of the advertising specialists J. Walter Thompson. 

"Drinks companies need to advertise to keep their brands in the public eye and to tell people about new ones," adds Dr Ian Twinn, director of public affairs at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA).

While advertising is central to the industry’s marketing efforts, there is a widespread acknowledgement that companies have to be careful to avoid running foul of strict regulatory standards, dictating what can and cannot be included in their campaigns.

The Advertising Standards Authority, which monitors press advertising, says: Marketing communications should be socially responsible and should neither encourage excessive drinking nor suggest that drinking can overcome boredom, loneliness or other problems. Care should be taken not to exploit the young, the immature or those who are mentally or socially vulnerable.

The ASA explicitly states that models who are or seem to be under 25 should not appear in drinks advertisements and says too that: Marketing communications should not suggest that any alcoholic drink has therapeutic qualities or can enhance mental, physical or sexual capabilities, popularity, attractiveness, masculinity, femininity or sporting achievements.

The ITC, which regulates television advertising, echoes these sentiments and says in addition that excessive consumption must not be encouraged.  Companies maintain they follow these guidelines to the letter but the Portman Group, which is funded by the drinks  industry to promote sensible drinking, admits its members are sometimes criticised for their marketing efforts.

"We recognise there has been some concern expressed recently in respect of TV ads and whether they are complying with the spirit of the rules," says David Poley, director of policy and good practice at the Portman Group.

Concerns about advertising are never helpful to the industry’s wider reputation but they are particularly worrying now.  The Government is shortly to publish its long-awaited final report on alcohol, having just published an interim report on the subject, containing facts and figures on the use and abuse of wine, beer and spirits. (At the time of going to press this interim report had not been published yet).

The final report will reveal the Government’s strategy on alcohol and no one in either the advertising industry or the drinks business knows if the paper will touch on marketing and promotion and if so, what it might say or advocate.

"We are not convinced that the Government is in the market for further restrictions on alcohol as there are no serious suggestions that the current codes are not adequate for the job.

But an area which could be discussed by the Government is the extent to which the codes are being adhered to in spirit and in practice," says ISBA’s Ian Twinn.

City analysts are not yet focusing on the review but there is a growing scepticism within the financial community about the Government’s attitude towards business. 

"I would be amazed if anything the Government did would be beneficial to any of the companies involved in any of its reviews," said Andrew Holland of leading investment bank ABN Amro.  The Portman Group reflects this caution.   "The industry cannot be complacent ahead of the final review," says Poley.

The problems are essentially two-fold and each is related to the other. First, alcohol is associated in the minds of many with cigarettes.  Cigarette advertising has been banned so drinks advertising should be too, goes the thinking of a number of opinion-formers.

Secondly, placing restrictions on advertising is relatively simple.  "Even if advertising is not the cause of the problems associated with alcohol misuse, it is a very easy target," says Poley.

There is, of course, a crucial difference between drinking and smoking, since every cigarette that a person smokes has the potential to do them harm, while moderate consumption of alcohol is thought to have no ill-effects and is even said to have some health benefits.  "Misuse of drink is damaging, not drink itself," says JWT’s MacAuslan.

One of the most controversial series of advertising campaigns in recent years was the spate of advertisements depicting the delights of alcopops. Many people were outraged by the enormous early success of these drinks and suggested they encouraged the under-aged to indulge in binge drinking.

The industry responded to criticism by toning down some of its marketing efforts but fears about this segment of the market persist regardless.  The ISBA suggests some of these worries are misplaced.

"Parents of young girls say Bacardi Breezers are a godsend because at least they know what their kids are drinking.  No one can throw an extra shot of rum into the mix ‘just for a laugh’," says Twinn.

The point Twinn makes is that ready-mixed drinks made by reputable companies have an inherent badge of quality. T wo hundred years ago, there was no such thing as branded goods – everything was generic.

Brands were launched to give consumers a guarantee and people paid more for what they knew were top quality goods.  Big producers of alcohol continue to make and market their goods in response to this consumer need. Most of the large companies are also aware, however, of the changing climate.  "We are acutely conscious of the need for responsible advertising.

We are beginning to advise moderation in our campaigns, such as the one for Ballantynes whisky," said a spokesman from Allied Domecq.  Other examples of this new mood can be seen across the industry.

Diageo’s Smirnoff Ice campaign is dedicated to social responsibility; Sex and the City, sponsored by Baileys, includes a warning to drink responsibly, while Friends, sponsored by Jacob’s Creek, also carries a responsible message.

There have been suggestions that the sterner stance on alcohol has been prompted by pressure from Europe.  In Ireland, it is said that advertising codes are being ignored, while in France the advertising of all alcohol bar wine has been prohibited for years.

Intriguingly, however, this ban has had no discernible effect on alcohol consumption, particularly in the important youth market.  "There is a suspicion that the ban was imposed to protect local brands against global competition," said one source.

Nonetheless, the UK industry is determined to try to prevent the introduction of such draconian measures.  "We are keen to maintain commercial freedoms and we believe we can do so through continued selfregulation.

If we can demonstrate that we are acting responsibly as an industry, promoting responsible drinking and tackling alcohol misuse, then there’s no need for legislation to impact us," said Paul Flanagan of Diageo.

"Industry is already responding to changing attitudes.  It is trying to police itself.  This administration does like to interfere in selfregulation though," said one cynical senior beverages analyst.

The industry and the advertising agencies that do business with it are both convinced, however, that the French experience reveals an important lesson.  "There may be a political requirement to make a move, but misuse of alcohol comes down to individuals  -banning the marketing of drink is not going to solve misuse," said one senior advertiser.

Successive governments have been talking for years about forming a cohesive and coherent strategy to combat alcohol abuse.  The recent publicity about increasing amounts of binge drinking among the young and among twenty- and thirtysomething women has brought the situation into the limelight.

Ian Twinn admits, "Everyone recognises that alcohol abuse is a social abuse that needs to be addressed."  Whether addressing this issue involves advertising, however, is open to question.

If it were to, there would be two obvious regulatory routes to follow: further restrictions on advertising content, or restrictions on when and where advertisements are allowed to appear.

"It would be much easier to control placing than content, so what is more likely, for example, would be changing the watershed or preventing advertisements around certain programmes or types of programmes," said MacAuslan.

The Government’s conclusions will not appear until later this year.  Until then, all the manufacturers can do is highlight the responsible attitude they are adopting and hope ministers will not interfere too heavily in the industry’s own attempts at self-regulation.