As the UK drinks industry awaits publication of the government’s National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, increasing attention is likely to be focused on TV alcohol advertising. As criticism of both the content and scheduling of TV alcohol advertising grows, Ben Cooper examines the likelihood of tighter regulation and asks why the industry has not made a better job of regulating itself.
Recent action taken by the UK drinks industry’s own watchdog, The Portman Group, against a number of dubiously named alcoholic drinks has put the concept of self-regulation in a relatively good light. But it could be that laudable steps such as these will not be able to avert a storm brewing in the UK over alcohol over which The Portman Group has no control whatsoever, namely TV advertising.
It is now nearly 10 years since spirits brands resumed TV advertising in the UK after a sustained self-imposed ban, during which time the volume, nature and scheduling of TV ads has evolved almost beyond recognition. At a time of considerable public and government concern about teenage alcohol abuse, binge-drinking, the anti-social effects of excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related mortality and morbidity, to imagine that TV advertising will not come under the spotlight would be naïve in the extreme.
With concern from many quarters growing that TV drinks advertising is overstepping the mark too often, the UK drinks industry is without doubt facing the spectre of tighter regulation.
“There is growing concern about this,” said Eric Appleby, chief executive of the UK charity, Alcohol Concern. “I think the industry itself is beginning to recognise that they have gone over the top. It is not just the volume of advertising but also the nature of the advertisements. The use of sex has gone through the roof. We would say that there needs to be tighter regulation from the ITC.”
It is no surprise to find a charity concerned with tackling alcohol abuse calling for tighter regulation in this area but it needs to be borne in mind that Alcohol Concern is generally supportive of the work of The Portman Group in the areas in which it operates.
Moreover, even some within the industry are voicing concerns, fearful that misjudgments about advertising content will result in the end of an era of relatively relaxed regulation. At a conference organised by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), Hugh Birkitt, chairman of the advertising agency, Birkitt DDB UK, who was also on the board of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for six years, gave a stark warning to UK drinks companies.
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By GlobalData“My concern at the present in the UK is that while the adman in me recognises that the specific rules on alcohol advertising are generally being followed, the regulator in me fears the spirit of these rules is being widely ignored, especially on television,” Birkitt said.
“In a European context, I think UK drink advertisers are behaving unwisely, and that this makes a ban, or serious restriction on television advertising for alcoholic drinks, a real possibility. A ban already exists in many European countries. It would be easy for those opposed to advertising to argue that the UK should be “harmonised” with these markets.”
Birkitt illustrated his argument with a number of ads which were barely within the letter of the law and certainly no way within the spirit of the regulation. If the drinks industry is not prepared to heed the warning noises being made by its opponents, such criticism from someone who has worked for drinks companies and who is an advocate of creative expression in advertising should definitely make it sit up and take notice.
Hugh Birkitt, is clearly not advocating government-imposed tighter regulation, but at the very least he is calling for greater self-restraint on the part of the industry.
The debate over TV advertising could not come at a more poignant moment for the UK drinks industry as it awaits the government’s National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy due to be published possibly by the end of the year, but more likely to be seen during 2004.
While the government’s review is thought unlikely to contain a direct call for tighter regulation of advertising, it is clear that advertising is one area it is looking at closely. It is likely that, at the very least, the government will ask the broadcasting watchdog, OffCom, to examine the policy options for tighter regulation of TV alcohol advertising.
The recent publication of the government’s interim analysis relating to the Harm Reduction Strategy painted a grim picture of alcohol abuse in the UK and put the country in a poor light in comparison with other European countries where tighter regulation exists. While the interim analysis only made passing reference to TV advertising, there seems little doubt that advertising is one area where attention will definitely be focused.
Whether you believe that the ITC rules are too permissive, or the regulator itself has become lax in monitoring alcohol advertising, or the drinks industry has been pushing the rules too far, the fact remains that for many the current regulation system is being called into question. And at a very unfortunate time as far as the industry is concerned.
It is interesting, therefore, to note that the UK drinks industry boasts a highly successful example of self-regulation, in the form of The Portman Group, which has been responsible for curbing excesses and abuses in areas such as alcohol packaging and brand-naming since its foundation in 1989. The Portman Group’s Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Merchandising of Alcoholic Drinks has proved an extremely useful vehicle for tackling, in those areas, similar abuses or questionable tactics for which TV advertising is now receiving criticism.
Indeed, as recently as yesterday it was announced that Federation Internationale des Vins et Spiriteux was looking to develop an international code for the responsible marketing of alcohol which is likely to borrow heavily from the Portman Group code. Moreover, The Portman Group was hailed as “a good model of self-regulation” by the UK government’s own Better Regulation Task Force, affiliated to the Department of Trade and Industry.
With The Portman Group regularly winning such plaudits, it seems a shame that the group is not more involved in the regulation of TV advertising, which falls outside of its remit. This contrasts with the situation in the US where the distilled spirits council, DISCUS, has drawn up a self-regulatory code on the TV advertising of alcohol which also appears to have been successful.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report for the US Senate entitled Alcohol Marketing and Advertising. In the report, the FTC investigated, among other things, whether the beverage alcohol industry had implemented recommendations contained in the Commission’s 1999 report to Congress regarding alcohol industry self-regulation. It said there had been improvements and the largest of these had occurred in the area of ad placement. In 2002, the alcohol companies surveyed achieved 99% compliance with the standard that at least 50% of the relevant media audience be adults.
There were negative points too and areas where the FTC remains very concerned, but on balance the report was positive about the self-regulatory system in the US relating to TV advertising. DISCUS has further enhanced its relationship with the FTC by committing to adhere to a 70% placement standard for advertising and to implement post-placement audits.
Given this success in the US, not least in keeping regulators at bay, it is tempting to suggest that the drinks industry might consider imposing self-regulation on itself in the area of TV advertising, especially as it already has a body experienced and well-respected in that field. As it stands, The Portman Group is not involved in TV advertising but the organisation’s spokesman, Jim Minton, said it “might be interesting to explore” the idea.
“It is an interesting proposition,” Minton told just-drinks. “If you look at the provision in the various codes that exist for advertising they are very similar to ours. In theory the pre-launch advice (we offer) and even the complaints (service) could be applied to advertising. Maybe it’s something that is worth the industry thinking about.”
Whether through self-regulation or simply self-restraint, it would appear that the drinks industry must reduce the negative publicity which some of the excesses of TV advertising is creating. Hugh Birkitt entitled his speech “Are Alcohol Advertisers drinking in the Last Chance Saloon?”. He gave that speech almost a year ago and the warning does not yet appear to have been heeded. There is more than a suggestion that they will have to take steps soon or it will be the government which will be calling “Last Orders”.
