The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) recommends that
all advertisements for alcohol beverages produced for publication
or broadcast in Australia, other than point-of-sale advertising,
must comply with the following guidelines.
a) Present
a mature, balanced and responsible approach to the consumption
of alcohol and, accordingly -
- must not encourage
excessive consumption or abuse of alcohol
- must not encourage under-age drinking
- must not promote offensive behaviour, or the excessive
consumption of alcohol
- must only depict the responsible and moderate consumption
of alcohol.
b) Not have a strong or evident appeal to children
or adolescents and, accordingly -
- adults appearing in advertisements must be over 25 year-of-age
and be clearly depicted as adults
- children and adolescents may only appear in advertisements
in natural situations (e.g. family barbecue, licensed family
restaurant) and where there is no implication that the depicted
children and adolescents will consume or serve alcohol beverages;
and
- adults under the age of 25 years may only appear as part
of a natural crowd or background scene.
c) Not suggest that the consumption or presence of
alcohol may create or contribute to a significant change in
mood or environment and, accordingly
- must not depict the consumption or presence of alcohol
as a cause of or contributing to the achievement of personal,
business, social, sporting, sexual or other success
- if alcohol is depicted as part of a celebration, it must
not imply or suggest that the beverage was a cause of or contributed
to success or achievement
- must not suggest that the consumption of alcohol offers
any therapeutic benefit or is a necessary aid to relaxation.
d) Not depict any direct association between the consumption
of alcohol, 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 —
- any depiction of the consumption of alcohol in connection
with the above activities must not be represented as having
taken place before or during engagement of the activity in
question and must in all cases portray safe practices; and
- any claim concerning safe consumption of low-alcohol beverages
must be demonstrably accurate.
e) Not challenge or dare people to drink or sample a particular
alcohol beverage, other than low-alcohol beverages, and must
not contain any inducement to prefer an alcohol beverage because
of its higher alcohol content; and
f) Comply with the Advertiser Code of Ethics adopted by the
Australian Association of National Advertisers.
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