We are taught to be open to new possibilities, to be
creative thinkers always going outside of the box. Yet in the world of
advertising, sometimes thinking outside the box puts you and your client under
the microscope. There is a very fine line between what's acceptable and what's
not, especially in a controversial industry like alcohol.
The ASC Alcoholic Beverage Advertising Clearance Guide has
six main clauses for what an advertiser isn't allowed to do in an ad. From the
surface, these seem pretty reasonable: no drinking and driving nonsense, no encouraging
alcoholism, no ads to minors, and no being a dumb ass (be responsible).
However, once you begin to pick these apart, you really start to wonder how a
government that makes nearly $2.5 billion PROFIT each year on our alcohol consumption
can be such sticklers.1
The advertising regulations for alcohol take away the realness
of what alcohol really brings to the table. If you think about it, creating an
alcohol ad without drunk people is kind of false advertising. If you're at a
bar, drinking, chances are you're going to get drunk, and maybe you should kind
of get an idea of what that's like, but clause 2.3 doesn't allow for anyone to
display the effects of alcohol.
Alcohol may not 'bring people together' but realistically we
drink everywhere from restaurants to tailgate parties, why not show alcohol in
all its glory. If advertisement were allowed to actually show alcohol in the
proper use, it wouldn't be misleading and it wouldn't imply that alcohol is
necessary for fun, it would just tell a story and show that alcohol isn't
always a bunch of guys standing around holding full beers. What's so wrong with
showing a person drinking a beer, it's not purchased to be looked at after all.
This ad for Tuborg beer in Denmark gives an exaggerated view
of what alcohol does - makes your vision of the situation different than it may
really be. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. A guy watching this ad
might think, 'Cool I'll take what I can get', or he might think 'I better NOT
drink or I'm going to make a horrible mistake like this'.
With all this being said, advertising must always be in good
taste and its ads like these that may be the exact reason we have regulations in
place.
1"LCBO | Media Centre." LCBO | Media Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/media_centre/faq.shtml>.
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