The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) has welcomed a new initiative that sees leading beer, wine, and spirits producers join forces with prominent digital platforms to set and deliver new and robust standards of responsibility for their wider industries.
The initiative is led by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to reducing harmful drinking and promoting understanding of responsible drinking. Many of the leading drinks companies involved in this initiative have a strong presence in Ireland and the prominent digital platforms involved are Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.
Safeguarding Marketing
According to IARD, the initiative will ensure the most-up-to-date safeguards are used so that marketing communications relating to beer, wine and spirits are directed to those adults who can lawfully buy these products; explore what changes can be made to further diminish the chances of those underage seeing this advertising; and explore ways people can have greater control over whether they see alcohol advertising and opt out of receiving advertisements for alcohol products.
ABFI director Patricia Callan commented, “In Ireland, we adhere to some of the strictest advertising codes in the world for both content and volume of alcohol advertising and we are committed to maintaining those high standards. These codes have existed since 2003 and mean that no alcohol advertising can appeal directly to young people or feature anyone who is, or appears to be, under the age of 25.
“ABFI is totally opposed to underage drinking and we very much welcome this new initiative, which further diminishes the chances of those that are underage seeing alcohol advertising in a digital age.”
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
