Around 48% of adverts for alcohol-free products could be non-compliant with advertising rules, according to a new study from the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ASA’s Pulse Report: Alcohol Advertising, published today (9 October), suggests nearly half of adverts for “alcohol-free alternatives” assessed “had potential compliance issues”.
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The main issues highlighted were “almost entirely” linked to “missing or unclear abv information”.
According to the advertising watchdog, under the UK advertising code rules, marketing communications for alcohol alternatives require “a prominent statement” on abv levels, which is important for consumers who want to avoid levels of alcohol at 0.5% and below.
“A number of ads” did not meet this requirement, the ASA added, “including a noticeable proportion from smaller or newer advertisers”, which could highlight that SMEs are less aware of these abv labelling requirements.
The UK advertising authority said it plans to publish advice for the sector to help them understand the abv labelling rule.
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By GlobalDataThe ASA’s report, completed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, assessed roughly 6,000 paid-for ads visible to UK consumers in early 2025, shared though online social media, search and display channels.
Overall, 96% of ads assessed from alcohol producers were compliant with the authority’s advertising code.
Just 1-3% of ads were found to be breaking advertising rules , the ASA said, while 1% were “ambiguous” and required additional probing.
Some of the most frequent “non-compliant” issues found by the ASA were around claims on sugar levels, calorie content and weight control, which are not allowed for alcoholic beverages.
Some smaller alcohol brands and venues were also found to have used “imagery or themes likely to appeal particularly to children”, such as cartoon characters.
The most frequently found non-compliant theme was promoting irresponsible drinking.
Commenting on the report, Adam Davison, director of data science at the Advertising Standards Authority said: “It highlights that the alcohol sector is generally sticking to the rules, which is great news. We’ve also spotted places where we think we can do more, and deliver better regulation thanks to our rapid adoption of AI.”
