A banned Aldi Christmas ad in the UK would not have passed the Irish alcohol advertising checks, according to a representative of the drinks industry.
Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), the representative body for drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland, has reiterated the strength of Ireland’s alcohol advertising rules in light of the recent ban in the UK.
The Aldi Christmas ad for alcohol, which featured the computer-animated Kevin the Carrot, was banned in the UK for inappropriately appealing to children.
This would not have passed the “extremely strict” alcohol advertising clearance system that screens all ads to ensure they don’t appeal to young people, according to the ABFI.
“Ireland has some of the strictest placement and advertising content codes in the world for advertising alcohol,” said Patricia Callan, director of ABFI. “All advertising copy is sent for pre-clearance to CopyClear, an agency that ensures it fully complies with the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland’s codes.”
“This process is unique to Ireland, as no other market puts its alcohol advertising through such rigorous scrutiny,” Callan continued. “Among other things, it means that no alcohol advertising can appeal directly to young people. This system has been in place since 2003 and works. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol consumption in Ireland has fallen by 25% since 2005.”
However, figures from health advocacy group Alcohol Action Ireland indicate that consumption of alcohol has been on the rise in Ireland since 2012, with a 4.8% increase of pure alcohol per person aged 15+ in 2016 compared to the year before.
© 2018 - Checkout Magazine by Kevin Duggan
