ABAC’s Quarterly Report reminds marketers of the importance of proactively educating their marketing teams and agencies on responsible marketing of alcohol.
“As complaints about alcohol marketing remain steady after a post Covid dip, it has never been more
important for marketers to proactively educate their teams and agencies on responsible marketing of alcohol,” said ABAC chair Hon Tony Smith.
“ABAC offers a wide range of options including its recently updated packaging guide, a free one hour online training course, interactive training workshops and pre-vetting advice which remains the most effective means of reducing the risk of a Panel breach and is available to ABAC signatories as well as non-signatory alcohol producers and retailers.
“Last quarter a range of concerns resulted in a breach of Code standards, including:
- Social media posts showing or directly implying excessive alcohol consumption or anti-social
behaviour, such as alcohol abuse and implications of criminal activity with the Panel
reminding marketers that parody and humour does not make this acceptable. - Alcohol marketing and packaging with strong or evident appeal to minors, through imagery,
like cute cartoon style drawings, and clear associations with confectionery. - Describing alcohol consumption as ‘guilt free’, which requires caution as it might suggest
alcohol offers a health benefit. - Alcohol use while swimming which is an obvious safety issue that continues to draw Panel
breaches.
Taking just an hour to educate yourself on ABAC standards prevents irresponsible communications
entering the market, and ensures the alcohol industry is meeting community expectations.”
ABAC chair Hon Tony Smith emphasised ABAC’s First Quarterly Report for 2024 detailing decisions made during the past quarter is available online.
More information about the ABAC is available at: http://www.abac.org.au/