Hitting the target?

A report claiming drinks adverts are targeted at children is another blow to the trade

The trade has dismissed a new report sponsored by The UK Temperance Alliance as "total nonsense" - but what effect will it have on the already poor public image of the drinks industry?

The Institute of Alcohol Studies' report, entitled "Marketing Alcohol to Young People", claims that drinks advertising, promotions and packaging are purposefully targeted at children. And by children, it includes toddlers and even very young babies.

The report claims that adverts and bottle and can designs featuring cartoon imagery or characters like Santa Claus are directly aimed at the youth market - and that sponsorship of sporting, music, film or television events may cause some to experiment with alcohol from a very young age because they associate it with their heroes.

The Institute singles out, in particular, advertising on football shirts, which can be bought for toddlers or in some cases in a babygrow format.

Trade leaders have argued that this is not a direct effort to target children and that they are too young to appreciate the implications of the brand name appearing on their outfit.

But the latest attack has sparked a backlash from the national newspapers and with the trade still reeling from comments made at a recent European summit organised by the World Health Organisation in Sweden, there is a danger that once again the trade will end up carrying the can.

Representatives at the summit last month pledged to review alcohol advertising in view of new statistics that showed a rise in underage drunkenness and drink-related problems.

The figures for the UK were some of the worst in Europe and led to calls for a clampdown on alcohol advertising and promotions as well as demands for stricter controls in pubs and clubs.

The trade claims it needs government support not stricter legislation and has renewed its own calls for a national government-backed proof-of-age card to help licensees curb underage drinking.

The drinks industry also acted some five years ago to self-regulate drinks packaging through the industry-funded watchdog The Portman Group. This was set up following public concern over the rash of so-called alcopops which emerged in the mid-1990s. These used humorous cartoon imagery on bottles and cans and were widely criticised as appealing to children.

Since then, The Portman Group's code of practice, which regulates all new designs, has been implemented and several of the original bottles and packaging, including sector leader Hooch's "crazy lemon" design, have been altered.

But there has been criticism of the group.

Some health organisations say the trade is simply making a token gesture, given that funding for The Portman Group represents a minute fraction of the money spent each year on drinks advertising and promotion.

Reports like this from the Institute of Alcohol Studies may come across as "nonsense" to trade leaders but can still damage its reputation with the general public, who know little of the background behind it. Most will read the criticism of the trade without ever even seeing the report themselves.

The new report dismisses trade efforts to self-regulate and accuses the industry of "breaching the spirit" of its own code of practice on advertising.

It concludes that "not only are children growing up in an environment where they are bombarded with positive images of alcohol but the youth sector is a key target of the marketing practices of the alcohol industry".

It adds: "The level and pervasiveness of alcohol advertising in the lives of young people should cause concern. While codes of practice do exist, and the alcohol industry publicly accepts the need for them, alcohol producers are breaching the spirit of these by targeting many of their advertisements to the adolescent market."

Portman Group spokesman Graham Goodwin described the references to the code of practice within the report as "highly inaccurate and highly misleading".

"The code is an excellent example of self-regulation. If they have serious concerns about it they should make a formal complaint rather than making unsubstantiated allegations," he added.

In the report, the Institute has used four examples of complaints that have not been upheld under the code of practice. Mr Goodwin claimed this was not a representative sample, since 55 of the 95 complaints made in total had been upheld.

Elsewhere in the report, Carlsberg is singled out for its association with Liverpool Football Club and its sponsorship of the Euro 2000 football championships.

It criticises the association between sports and alcohol not only for the implication that alcohol can improve sporting prowess but also for the strong link between sports and children.

"The temptation to advertise alcohol to youngsters is too strong to resist. Sports activities are an important part of a child's upbringing," it says.

"Most children not only play sports but watch their favourite teams and athletes on the television and read about them in publications. In doing so, young people are exposed to astute marketing techniques."

A spokeswoman for Carlsberg-Tetley said the company was in full agreement with comments made by The Portman Group that the report was not backed up by factual research and was "misleading and inaccurate - more of an opinion piece than a report".

There was also criticism in the report of the Bass advertising featured in its It's a Scream student outlets two years ago.

Bass withdrew the adverts, one of which featured anal haemorrhaging and another a couple apparently having sex, following the public reaction against them and has since introduced more restrictions on adverts for its brands.

Bob Cartwright, communications director at Bass Leisure Retail, said: "These adverts were withdrawn two years ago and I am told that the people who drew up the report knew that. This is an example of self-regulation within the trade working."

But he admitted that the timing of the report was unfortunate.

"I think against the current climate of concern it is unfortunate a report that is so biased has attracted so much attention," he added.

"I think it is what you do to regulate behind the scenes that is important but the difficulty is if the public takes reports like this too seriously. It is a report released by a group with a very minority approach to life and should be treated with the respect it deserves."