Group wants beer ads sans sexy women
The Toronto Star ^ | 09/11/2006 | By DENE MOORE
MONTREAL—Bye-bye, beer babes.
At least, that could be the case under a new set of ethical guidelines adopted by a Quebec alcohol industry group.
Éduc'alcool is encouraging manufacturers, retailers and distributors to shun some of the sexy ads of yore and opt for more responsible methods of drawing customers.
"We know we have some rules, we have some laws, but we think that we could use a code of ethics," said Jean-Guy Dubuc, president of the organization funded by the provincial liquor agency.
"We're not against beautiful women, or fun, or anything like that. On the contrary."
But abuses or ethical breaches should have consequences, he said.
The group is asking the industry to voluntarily adopt the new code, which forbids sexism or the association of products with sexual performance, sexual attraction or popularity.
The code prohibits any implication that alcoholic products improve physical or intellectual capacities or has health benefits.
It bans the use of images of people who look younger than 25 and any that make alcohol particularly attractive to people under 18.
And the new rules also forbid excessive discounts or promotions and anything that encourages drinking games or drunkenness.
Industry groups have been asked to commit to the code of ethics by the end of the month.
A five-member industry panel will review complaints.
Violators will be given an opportunity to correct problems. If they fail to do so, the council will make public the brand and activities concerned, much like provincial press councils that self-regulate the newspaper industry.
The Quebec Bar, Pub and Tavern Owners' Association has already signed on.
"Society already asks us to be more responsible," said Renaud Poulin, president of the 2,000-strong association. "A code of ethics is a question of increasing understanding and awareness."
He said the code simply brings together rules they have loosely followed for many years.
"These are not ethics that are unknown to bar owners," he said.
Other industry groups have concerns.
"There's going to be this board and we have questions about how this board will operate," said Yvon Millette, president of the Quebec Brewers Association. "There's a lot left to interpretation."
Millette said the industry is already heavily regulated, and members of the public already have several options to make complaints, including Advertising Standards Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, provincial liquor agencies and the product manufacturer or media outlet themselves.
In 2004, Advertising Standards Canada received a record 230 complaints concerning advertising for alcoholic beverages, many of them that the ads were "degrading to women and highly offensive."
Twenty-four complaints were upheld, including complaints about ads that featured women kissing, women putting on suntan lotion, close-ups of women's buttocks, close-ups of women's breasts and nude women.
Last year, the council received 38 complaints, of which none was upheld.
"We're asking ourselves whether we need another layer of regulation," said Millette, whose group is not a member of Éduc'alcool.
There should be standards and boundaries for advertising, Millette said.
But in the end it is the public that will have the most impact on that, he added.
"If the consumers and the public in general don't like advertising ... their ruling will be felt at the sales level," Millette said.
"I think that's the ultimate judge." |
