The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints alleging that a recent advertisement for Heineken beer “condoned or encouraged the consumption of alcohol in a football stadium within sight of the pitch, which was an illegal activity,” and “condoned or encouraged people to take glass bottles into a football stadium, which was not permitted.” The TV commercial in question apparently featured a man traveling to the UEFA Champions League final game, where he and a woman were shown taking a seat in view of the field and “clinking the two bottles of Heineken together in a celebratory fashion.” Although Heineken UK Ltd. described the ad as a “light-hearted” and “tongue-in-cheek” fantasy, ASA ultimately agreed with complainants that the final scene implied that the main characters “were going to consume beer during the football match.” “We considered that the ad could give the impression to viewers that such behavior,…
Tag Archives alcohol
The U.K. Home Office has issued its response to a public consultation on its alcohol strategy, laying out a number of new measures but stopping short of instituting a scheme that would have priced alcoholic beverages per unit of alcohol. Under the new strategy, the government has vowed, among other things, to (i) take action “on irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs,” (ii) facilitate “targeted action by pubs and clubs themselves to curb irresponsible drinking,” (iii) put an end to deep discounts on alcohol that made it possible for consumers to purchase beverages for less than the cost to retailers, and (iv) free “responsible business and community groups from unnecessary red tape, while maintaining the integrity of the licensing system.” At the same time, however, the Home Office ultimately declined to implement minimum unit pricing (MUP) because it found little evidence that the plan would “reduce problem drinking without penalizing…
Alcohol Concern, a U.K. charity “working on alcohol issues,” has issued a report titled “Stick to the Facts” that claims “[a]dvertisers exploit weak rules to develop content that appeals to both adults and young people. Audience thresholds limiting the percentage of minors insufficiently shield those underage. Children and young people in the UK aged 10-15 years are today exposed to significantly more alcohol adverts than adults than would be expected, given their viewership patterns.” The report also claims that self-regulation, particularly as to digital and online content, “is failing to adequately protect children and young people.” Among other matters, the charity calls on policymakers to prohibit alcohol company sponsorship of sporting, cultural and music events, including branded merchandise, restrict advertising at cinemas for all films without an 18 classification, and regulate alcohol promotion by statute, independent of the alcohol and advertising industries.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has ordered the centralization of six actions claiming that Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC, systematically overstated the alcohol content of its malt beverage products by diluting them with water. In Re: Anheuser-Busch Beer Labeling Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2448 (JPML, decided June 10, 2013). The putative class actions being centralized have all alleged that the beer manufacturer added extra water to 11 different products despite its claims that any deviation from the alcohol content stated on the product label “is within the range permitted by federal regulation.” In transferring the actions to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the panel agreed with plaintiffs that “notwithstanding defendants’ apparent acknowledgement of some variance for unspecified products, the alleged conduct at issue—systematic overstatement of alcohol content—will remain in dispute and will involve complex discovery concerning the calibration of the involved equipment…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that amends color additive regulations to provide for “the safe use of mica-based pearlescent pigments prepared from titanium dioxide and mica as color additives in distilled spirits containing not less than 18 percent and not more than 23 percent alcohol by volume but not including distilled spirits mixtures containing more than 5 percent wine on a proof gallon basis.” The action follows a petition filed by E. & J. Gallo Winery and takes effect July 15, 2013. See Federal Register, June 12, 2013.
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a final rule amending the mandatory labeling requirements for wine to permit alcohol content “to appear on other labels affixed to the container rather than requiring it to appear on the brand label.” Effective August 9, 2013, the final rule seeks to provide greater flexibility in wine labeling “and will conform the TTB wine labeling regulations to the agreement reached by the members of the World Wine Trade Group [WWTG] regarding the presentation of certain information on wine labels.” According to TTB, the WWTG Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labeling specifies that all wine labels must display the following common mandatory information (CMI): (i) country of origin, (ii) alcohol content (percentage by volume), (iii) net contents, and (iv) product name. Under the agreement, all four of the CMI elements must appear in a “single field…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has published the antitrust complaint filed with a proposed final judgment and competitive impact statement, resolving its concerns that the acquisition of Grupo Modelo S.A.B. de C.V. by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV would violate section 7 of the Clayton Act. According to DOJ, the final judgment requires the companies “to divest Modelo’s entire U.S. business to Constellation Brands, Inc.,” or to an alternative purchaser if that transaction fails, to avoid a threat to the competitive U.S. beer market. Court approval of the agreement is required, and public comment is requested within 60 days of publication. See Federal Register, May 22, 2013.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a final rule amending the standards for cognac and pisco, a type of brandy manufactured in Peru and Chile. According to TTB, the final rule honors an international agreement with Peru and Chile recognizing pisco as a distinctive product of those countries in exchange for the recognition of Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey as distinctive products of the United States. The final rule clarifies that pisco is “a type of brandy that must be manufactured in accordance with the laws and regulations of either Peru or Chile” and removes “Pisco brandy” from the list of examples of geographic designations in the distilled spirits standard of identity. Under the new rules, qualifying products can now bear the name “Pisco” or any of its equivalents—“Pisco Perú,” “Pisco Chileno” or “Chilean Pisco” without needing to add the term “brandy”…
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued guidance to industry on the “Use of Social Media in the Advertising of Alcohol Beverages.” According to the May 13, 2013, circular, TTB considers that the advertising provisions of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act) apply to all advertisements “including social media.” The guidance aims to provide “a basis for voluntary compliance with the FAA Act and the TTB advertising regulations with regard to social media, both in terms of required mandatory statements and prohibited practices or statements.” TTB defines social media outlets as social network services, video sharing sites, blogs, microblogs, forums or comment sections on websites, apps for mobile devices, and links and quick response codes. Applicable to advertisements for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages, the requirements include posting a responsible advertiser name and address and avoiding prohibited statements, including false health…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently upheld three out of four complaints brought by the Youth Alcohol Advertising Council (YAAC) against Fireball Whiskey distributor Hi Spirits Ltd. over social media advertisements that allegedly promoted excessive drinking. In particular, the complaints focused on Fireball Whiskey’s Facebook page, which, in addition to advertisements depicting young women pouring or consuming alcohol, a young man “lying face down on a bed” and teddy bears branded with the whiskey’s logo, apparently featured (i) “a poster in style of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’” with the tagline “TAKE A SHOT AND IGNITE THE NITE” and a caption asking users to “Like if you think this is a good plan for the weekend!”; (ii) a status update asking users to submit their “Fireball stories from the weekend” to win “Fireball freebies!”; and (iii) a status update asking students undergoing final exams to “Like this status and…
