>>aspects of proposed rules on TV DRinks ads are political - Chris Searle, executive director, Bacardi-Martini
During the 25 years I have spent in drinks marketing, the broadcast code rules for alcohol have been adapted regularly. The latest tightening in key areas of sensitivity, as laid out in the recent Cabinet Office report on Alcohol Harm Reduction, and the review of how the advertising codes should be interpreted are to be welcomed. We have been working in a constructive manner to propose sensible changes.
But a significant tightening in the area of youth appeal is a political directive, even an election issue, as problems in society get worse. There is no evidence to show how much brand advertising contributes toward antisocial behaviour, so who should take responsibility is a moot point.
TV advertising is a small part of the industry’s marketing costs. If you take the retail sales value for beers, wines and spirits across the off and on-trades (£27bn - £7bn excise) and compare it with the broadcast ad spend (£124m), you can see that weight of advertising is a less material factor on sales than availability across 200,000 outlets.
We are in the business of building global brands. These need advertising investment to be successful. Binge drinking, where consumers can’t remember what they were drinking before they got ill and when they do remember blame that brand, is no good for us. We want regular, responsible consumption, not the weekly Big Night Out.
Bacardi campaigns are carefully researched with consumers, they are worth watching and are enjoyed. Because of the cost of production, these ads are used in a number of international markets where there are similar consumer profiles, not types of behaviour. The Italians and Greeks see these advertisements, but they don’t behave the same way as our youth.
We welcome some of Ofcom’s proposals but there are areas of concern. Our Latin Quarter ads contain party scenes and dancing as you might see in a nightclub. In an attempt to present mature socialising where drinking is restrained, is a party scene likely to be banned? How divorced from the lifestyle of consumers will advertising be?
What about the Caribbean beach parties for Malibu? This is hardly Ibiza Uncovered, imagery we don’t want! But we do want to protect our ability to show our brand heritage and authenticity.
The change in the rule that advertising should not appeal ‘particularly’ to people
under 18 to one of it ‘not being likely to appeal strongly’ to under-18s is a change in the right direction. The problem is that interpretation and the guidance, based on very flaky research, are too prescriptive and will remove most of today’s advertising.
Take George Clooney, who could feature in a UK Martini commercial this Christmas. Let’s consider such an advertisement in the light of the proposals.
I am sure Clooney has a strong appeal to a wide age range of Martini drinkers, predominantly 35-plus women. I am sure he has a strong appeal to most women and to filmgoers, some of whom are under 18. But does he have a particular appeal to under-18s? No. Does he have a strong appeal to under-18s? Yes. Does he have a disproportionately strong appeal to under-18s? I don’t think so.
And therein lies the problem. In the same way that we classify programmes by target audience, we might have to do the same with personalities.
Music is the trickiest area because it can be used to set rather than change moods,
and would be the most difficult area in which to achieve compliance with the spirit of the code.
We support the ISBA proposal to tighten the rule on sex. But the idea that advertising can influence what is already in the minds of teenagers - sex and alcohol - is hard to accept. Peer group pressure, family environment and cultural influences, including money, are the key drivers here.
Taken as a package, these proposals put such strong creative limitations on our business that if we can’t get effective advertising within the spirit of the code, we may have to look at other media. We want to curb antisocial behaviour. But if there is a direct cause and effect with alcohol ads, then the logic is for a complete ban.
However, the correlation is not there. So let’s get clarity and common sense in the code. Allow us to work with our regulator the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre and the Advertising Standards Authority in partnership with Ofcom to get the interpretation of the code right.
>>p51 Focus on alcoholic drinks
During the 25 years I have spent in drinks marketing, the broadcast code rules for alcohol have been adapted regularly. The latest tightening in key areas of sensitivity, as laid out in the recent Cabinet Office report on Alcohol Harm Reduction, and the review of how the advertising codes should be interpreted are to be welcomed. We have been working in a constructive manner to propose sensible changes.
But a significant tightening in the area of youth appeal is a political directive, even an election issue, as problems in society get worse. There is no evidence to show how much brand advertising contributes toward antisocial behaviour, so who should take responsibility is a moot point.
TV advertising is a small part of the industry’s marketing costs. If you take the retail sales value for beers, wines and spirits across the off and on-trades (£27bn - £7bn excise) and compare it with the broadcast ad spend (£124m), you can see that weight of advertising is a less material factor on sales than availability across 200,000 outlets.
We are in the business of building global brands. These need advertising investment to be successful. Binge drinking, where consumers can’t remember what they were drinking before they got ill and when they do remember blame that brand, is no good for us. We want regular, responsible consumption, not the weekly Big Night Out.
Bacardi campaigns are carefully researched with consumers, they are worth watching and are enjoyed. Because of the cost of production, these ads are used in a number of international markets where there are similar consumer profiles, not types of behaviour. The Italians and Greeks see these advertisements, but they don’t behave the same way as our youth.
We welcome some of Ofcom’s proposals but there are areas of concern. Our Latin Quarter ads contain party scenes and dancing as you might see in a nightclub. In an attempt to present mature socialising where drinking is restrained, is a party scene likely to be banned? How divorced from the lifestyle of consumers will advertising be?
What about the Caribbean beach parties for Malibu? This is hardly Ibiza Uncovered, imagery we don’t want! But we do want to protect our ability to show our brand heritage and authenticity.
The change in the rule that advertising should not appeal ‘particularly’ to people
under 18 to one of it ‘not being likely to appeal strongly’ to under-18s is a change in the right direction. The problem is that interpretation and the guidance, based on very flaky research, are too prescriptive and will remove most of today’s advertising.
Take George Clooney, who could feature in a UK Martini commercial this Christmas. Let’s consider such an advertisement in the light of the proposals.
I am sure Clooney has a strong appeal to a wide age range of Martini drinkers, predominantly 35-plus women. I am sure he has a strong appeal to most women and to filmgoers, some of whom are under 18. But does he have a particular appeal to under-18s? No. Does he have a strong appeal to under-18s? Yes. Does he have a disproportionately strong appeal to under-18s? I don’t think so.
And therein lies the problem. In the same way that we classify programmes by target audience, we might have to do the same with personalities.
Music is the trickiest area because it can be used to set rather than change moods,
and would be the most difficult area in which to achieve compliance with the spirit of the code.
We support the ISBA proposal to tighten the rule on sex. But the idea that advertising can influence what is already in the minds of teenagers - sex and alcohol - is hard to accept. Peer group pressure, family environment and cultural influences, including money, are the key drivers here.
Taken as a package, these proposals put such strong creative limitations on our business that if we can’t get effective advertising within the spirit of the code, we may have to look at other media. We want to curb antisocial behaviour. But if there is a direct cause and effect with alcohol ads, then the logic is for a complete ban.
However, the correlation is not there. So let’s get clarity and common sense in the code. Allow us to work with our regulator the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre and the Advertising Standards Authority in partnership with Ofcom to get the interpretation of the code right.
>>p51 Focus on alcoholic drinks
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