I can't work out if the industry has signed up to the Boy Scouts Oath or a game of strip poker.
Of course, to the six leading health organisations who put their trust in science and sticks, this week's 'responsibility deal' belongs only in the after-school curriculum, and refused to take the pledge without so much as a by-your-leave.
On the other hand, Asda's pledge to ban alcohol displays in the foyers of its stores is a very adult gamble indeed for a supermarket to be pledging at a time when sales growth is so elusive and footfall so fickle.
It's taken the view that it's better to make political capital from an early move, than to follow sheepishly from the moral lowground. But it could easily end up with no clothes, and no hiding place, while rivals, big and small, take a more commercial stance.
A similar leap of faith appears to instruct Heineken's promise to reformulate one of its leading brands. The brand in question is widely thought to be Strongbow, and the obvious move would be to bring the 5.3% abv of its off-trade bottles and cans into line with the on-trade levels of 4.5%.
Cynics would accuse Heineken of using reformulation in such circumstances as a cute way to lower the price/up the sales/boost profits, but if it is Strongbow, the tax on cider is flat, so there would be no advantage other than brownie points. And would it simultaneously lower its spend on Strongbow, up 37.2% in our ranking of the Top 100 fmcg advertisers?
After years ineffectively flogging the industry with an assortment of sticks and other blunt instruments, I welcome the responsibility deal as a much-needed carrot. Carrots are a healthy source of fibre, high in antioxidants and minerals.
Carrots can be good for you, doctors tell us. In the same way, the responsibility deal is a grown up response to a problem we all want to fix.
That's not to say it should be the only vegetable on the plate. But it's a welcome addition and a good start.
Of course, to the six leading health organisations who put their trust in science and sticks, this week's 'responsibility deal' belongs only in the after-school curriculum, and refused to take the pledge without so much as a by-your-leave.
On the other hand, Asda's pledge to ban alcohol displays in the foyers of its stores is a very adult gamble indeed for a supermarket to be pledging at a time when sales growth is so elusive and footfall so fickle.
It's taken the view that it's better to make political capital from an early move, than to follow sheepishly from the moral lowground. But it could easily end up with no clothes, and no hiding place, while rivals, big and small, take a more commercial stance.
A similar leap of faith appears to instruct Heineken's promise to reformulate one of its leading brands. The brand in question is widely thought to be Strongbow, and the obvious move would be to bring the 5.3% abv of its off-trade bottles and cans into line with the on-trade levels of 4.5%.
Cynics would accuse Heineken of using reformulation in such circumstances as a cute way to lower the price/up the sales/boost profits, but if it is Strongbow, the tax on cider is flat, so there would be no advantage other than brownie points. And would it simultaneously lower its spend on Strongbow, up 37.2% in our ranking of the Top 100 fmcg advertisers?
After years ineffectively flogging the industry with an assortment of sticks and other blunt instruments, I welcome the responsibility deal as a much-needed carrot. Carrots are a healthy source of fibre, high in antioxidants and minerals.
Carrots can be good for you, doctors tell us. In the same way, the responsibility deal is a grown up response to a problem we all want to fix.
That's not to say it should be the only vegetable on the plate. But it's a welcome addition and a good start.
No comments yet