Advertising Standards Bureau - Review of Operations 2013 | Page 107

Alcohol Beverages Advertising
Preamble

Definitions

Brewers Association of Australia and New
Zealand Inc, the Distilled Spirits Industry
Council of Australia Inc and the Winemakers
Federation of Australia are committed to the
goal of all advertisements for alcohol beverages,
other than point of sale material, produced for
publication or broadcast in Australia complying
with the spirit and intent of this Code.

For the purpose of this Code:

The Code is designed to ensure that alcohol
advertising will be conducted in a manner which
neither conflicts with nor detracts from the
need for responsibility and moderation in liquor
merchandising and consumption, and which does
not encourage consumption by underage persons.
The conformity of an advertisement with this
Code is to be assessed in terms of its probable
impact upon a reasonable person within the class
of persons to whom the advertisement is directed
and other persons to whom the advertisement
may be communicated, and taking its content as
a whole.

•

a
dult means a person who is at least 18 years
of age;

•

alcohol beverage includes any particular
brand of alcohol beverage;

•

a
dolescent means a person aged 14–17 years
inclusive;

•

A
ustralian Alcohol Guidelines means the
electronic document ‘Guidelines for everyone
(1–3)’ published by the National Health &
Medical Research Council (NHMRC) as at
1st January 2004.

•

c
hild means a person under 14 years of age;
and

•

low alcohol beverage means an alcohol
beverage which contains less than 3.8%
alcohol/volume.

Advertisements for alcohol beverages must:
(a) resent a mature, balanced and responsible
p
approach to the consumption of alcohol
beverages and, accordingly:
i. ust not encourage excessive
m
consumption or abuse of alcohol;
ii. ust not encourage under‑age drinking;
m
iii. ust not promote offensive behaviour,
m
or the excessive consumption, misuse or
abuse of alcohol beverages;
iv. ust only depict the responsible
m
and moderate consumption of
alcohol beverages;
(b) ot have a strong or evident appeal to
n
children or adolescents and, accordingly:

Review of Operations 2013

i. dults appearing in advertisements must
a
be over 25 years of age and be clearly
depicted as adults;
ii. hildren and adolescents may only
c
appear in advertisements in natural
situations (eg family barbecue, licensed
family restaurant) and where there is no
implication that the depicted children
and adolescents will consume or serve
alcohol beverages; and
iii. dults under the age of 25 years may
a
only appear as part of a natural crowd or
background scene;
(c) ot suggest that the consumption or
n
presence of alcohol beverages may create or
contribute to a significant change in mood or
environment and, accordingly –
i. ust not depict the consumption or
m
presence of alcohol beverages as a cause
of or contributing to the achievement of
personal, business, social, sporting, sexual
or other success;
ii. f alcohol beverages are depicted as
i
part of a celebration, must not imply or
suggest that the beverage was a cause of
or contributed to success or achievement;
and
iii. ust not suggest that the consumption
m
of alcohol beverages offers any
therapeutic benefit or is a necessary aid
to relaxation;
(d) ot depict any direct association between
n
the consumption of alcohol beverages,

other than low alcohol beverages, and the
operation of a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft
or the engagement in any sport (including
swimming and water sports) or potentially
hazardous activity and, accordingly:

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