Drinks giants team up to head off ad regulation
Monday 16 April 2012
Related articles
Eight of Europe's biggest alcohol firms have united to launch new rules for their own advertising in an effort to head off tighter regulation.
Carlsberg, Heineken and Diageo are among the booze giants that have agreed the "Responsible Marketing Pact", which is being launched today and will cover all European Union countries.
A key measure is a commitment not to target children, particularly on social media. The eight alcohol companies said that they will only buy advertising in media "where at least 70 per cent of the audience is reasonably expected to be above legal purchase age", and the ads themselves must not be "attractive" to kids.
The drinks brands also vowed to prevent children from "inadvertently seeing alcohol beverage marketing" on websites such as Facebook by introducing "effective age controls" on ads and user-generated content on official fan pages.
AB InBev, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Pernod Ricard and SABMiller are the other firms to have signed up to the pact, which has been produced with trade body the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the European Commission's European Alcohol and Health Forum (EHAF). The alcohol firms claim the self-regulatory pact is "rigorous", and have hired management consultants Accenture to carry out independent monitoring.
The Advertising Standards Authority is expected to help to enforce the pact in Britain, with"public naming and shaming" for repeat offences.
Andrew Morgan, president of Diageo Europe, said: "The pact represents a major milestone in responsible marketing."
Charities such as Alcohol Concern have repeatedly complained that the drinks industry's marketing messages have been reaching young people "well before they are legally able to buy alcohol". A group of leading doctors warned recently in the medical journal The Lancet that there could be 210,000 avoidable deaths from drinking in the next two decades in Britain.
EHAF will monitor the new ad rules and produce a provisional report for Brussels by June 2013.
-
Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
-
Strewth mate. Aussies wave goodbye to Britain as it becomes too pricey to stay
-
World news in pictures
-
X marks the spot: The find that could rewrite Australian history
-
At least 91 feared dead including 20 children as massive tornado rips through Oklahoma
- 1 Tottenham to smash pay scale with £150,000-a-week contract in attempt to tie Gareth Bale to club
- 2 Austerity has hardened the nation's heart
- 3 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 4 Be more professional! GCHQ staff rapped as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange reveals messages that he says point to 'fit up'
- 5 Top A&E doctors warn: 'We cannot guarantee safe care for patients anymore'
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
iJobs Money & Business
Finance Business Analyst - Banking - £500pd
£500 per day: Orgtel: A top tier banking client urgently requires Finance Busi...
Senior Finance Project Manager
£425 - £550 per day: Orgtel: Senior Finance Project Manager - £550 - Bristol -...
KYC ANALYST
£150 - £250 per day: Orgtel: KYC Analyst - London - Banking - £150-250/day C...
Finance Governance Manager - Banking - £500pd
£500 per day: Orgtel: A top tier banking client urgently requires Finance Gove...
Day In a Page
The price of pacifism
Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond
Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?
Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'



Comments