Alcohol advertising continues to raise concerns

Experts have raised questions about the way alcohol advertising is regulated in Australia. A new report issues warnings about ads posted close to schools and children's playgrounds, the way drinks are packaged and the relationship between alcohol sponsorship and sport.

By JASON WALLS

A report released last month by the Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) has raised serious questions about the way alcohol advertising is regulated in Australia.

The report highlights various areas of concern including:

• the proximity of alcohol ads to schools and children's playgrounds
• alcohol association with youth events, such as Bendigo's Groovin' the Moo music festival
• alcohol packaging
• and the relationship between alcohol sponsorship and sport

The report's authors were critical of Fosters Group's association with the AFL due to its appeal to young people, but praised Barcardi Lion for its prompt removal of an advertising sign on a bus shelter in Adelaide that was deemed to be too close to a children's playground.

The report also points to weaknesses in the alcohol industry's system of so called “quasi regulation” spearheaded by the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC).

Of the 28 separate complaints heard by the ABAC adjudication panel so far this year, only seven have been upheld; two of which involved complaints relating to the Skinnygirl cocktail range of Beam Global Australia Pty Ltd.

On the March 22 this year the panel found the Skinnygirl logo (pictured), breached the section of the code relating to alcohol advertising that has a “strong or evident appeal to children or adolescents” as well as the clause which states that “adults appearing in product material must be over 25 years of age and be clearly depicted as adults."

In response to questioning Beam Global stated they had since reached an agreement with ABAC on amendments to the product's packaging, but as of the date of publication, the Skinnygirl product line remains on sale throughout the country and promoted on the company's website with no change to the logo.

Beam Global is a member of The Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia, a signatory to the ABAC scheme, and as such is “committed to abide by... any decision by the independent Adjudication Panel."

A separate decision related to a complaint against Bacchus Distillery Ptd Ltd who is not a signatory to the ABAC Scheme and accordingly has “no contractual obligation to abide by a Panel decision”.

The product was found to have breached the section of the code which requires packaging “must not encourage under-age drinking," but remains advertised for sale.

In a submission to the ABAC panel, Bacchus Distillery said it did not believe the product in question had breached the code and requested the complaint be dismissed. However, Bacchus Distillery did not request a re-hearing of the panel's provisional determination within the requisite ten business days.

In a statement released in March, ABAC dismissed claims it is “toothless” saying that industry involvement encouraged action when claims were upheld and that the AARB was not a valid alternative to ABAC, citing “errors of fact in [AARB] documents and media statements which compromise its credibility."

Of the remaining four complaints to ABAC to be upheld this year, one related to a breach of the code by Campari Australia Pty Ltd that the panel acknowledged was “not authorised or intended by the Advertiser” while the other three related to posts on beverage companies' Facebook pages.

Bacchus Distillery did not respond to requests for comment

Skinnygirl products remain on sale despite adverse findings by the industry regulator.