The UK government has considered imposing either a partial or full ban on alcohol ads, as part of its soon-to-be-released ten-year plan for the NHS, Sky has reported. A draft version of the document seen by Sky included a mention of an advertising ban, as part of a wider effort to prevent the damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, though it’s not certain that these plans will be included in the final report.
There are already significant restrictions on alcohol advertising in the UK, on both the media side and the creative side. The ads themselves may only feature people who are visibly over 25 (aside from peripheral roles), and can’t imply that alcohol consumption has significant positive side effects such as boosting confidence or attractiveness. And ads cannot be directly targeted at under-18s, or shown on media channels where more than a quarter of the total audience is likely to be under 18.
Despite these restrictions, many drinks makers are still significant spenders when it comes to marketing, so a total ban could have a big impact on the wider industry. Total ad spend in the UK is already set to take a potential knock later this year as new restrictions on ads for unhealthy foods and drinks will be put into practice (though they won’t formally come into force until next year).
Following the path of junk food?
If a ban on alcohol ads is included in the final version of the Labour government’s plan, there would still likely be a lot of back and forth between the government and the affected industries.
The same thing happened when the new restrictions on unhealthy foods were first proposed, as ad industry trade groups campaigned for the government to rethink the proposal. There’s always a delicate line to tread in claiming that advertising for potential harmful products doesn’t fuel those problems, without suggesting that advertising itself is ineffective. Claims may be made that there are other, more effective alternatives which could be pursued. Sky’s sources, however, suggested that the government has already ruled out a few alternatives which it had been considering, such as new minimum pricing rules which it has abandoned due to the political implications of effectively imposing a new tax.
The ban on ads for unhealthy foods could be a template for an alcohol ad ban to follow, should the government push on with the idea, and if it did, there would be implications for the TV industry. The junk food ban only applies on TV pre-9pm, whereas it applies at all times online, and brand campaigns which don’t show specific products are exempt. Both of these factors could lead to affected brands putting more of their budgets into TV — though we won’t know for sure how the industry will react until the restrictions come into effect.
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