A post by RTE earlier today (http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0701/alcohol.html) announces drastic restrictions to alcohol advertising across Ireland, valid as of today.
The highlights:
– limit on alcohol advertising to 25% of advertising space in any media at any time;
– advertising drinks on media where more than 25% of the audience is under 18 is banned;
– sponsorship by drink companies of sports events where participants are under 18 is banned;
– alcohol advertising on television between 6am and 10am is banned;
– alcohol advertising per viewing in cinemas has been reduced by 15%.
Neither The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) or the Irish Department of Health provide any methodologies as to how exactly would one measure these parameters, even though the restrictions are supposed to be taken into consideration immediately.
For an online content publisher, the rules are confusing and may halt alcohol advertising campaigns until clarifications are given.
What constitutes “25% of the advertising space at any time”? This requirement must have been written in the absence of anybody from the advertising industry, as it opens doors to tons of interpretations.
I have contacted DIGI about clarifications and measurement methodologies – will publish an update as soon as I get a reply.
