Introduction
Alcohol is advertised to us in a variety of ways. Sponsorship at sports and music events, products promoted in our favourite movies and TV shows, and displays in shops to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, weddings, and birthdays. It is everywhere we look. Big alcohol companies spend millions linking alcohol with the things we love – watching football, GAA, or rugby, going to a gig, sharing a romantic meal. The purpose of this is to normalise alcohol and influence when we start to drink, how much we drink, and how often we drink.[i] It was for this reason that the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA) aimed to reduce the direct or indirect promotion of alcohol products, especially towards children. However, it is clear that the alcohol industry is using zero-alcohol products to circumvent the advertising restrictions contained in the PHAA.
Zero alcohol product advertising
Just as restrictions under the PHHA came into force, big alcohol brands began brand sharing– that is advertising zero alcohol beers using the same master branding. It is of note that in the outdoor space where most of the PHAA restrictions are in place, zero alcohol ads made up 25 percent of the spend of alcohol brand advertising in 2022, up 31 percent from 2021, even though these products only make up around 2 percent of the market.[ii] It is accepted that zero alcohol products are not suitable for children. Even the advertising industry funded body the Advertising Standards Authority says that zero alcohol product advertising should not be in children’s media or proximate to schools[iii], while researchers and public health bodies including the World Health Organisation have been drawing attention to these concerns in recent years.[iv] So why then are they being advertised in the very areas which are deemed protected for children?
Alcohol marketers say the quiet part out loud
Strong brand recognition, whether driven by advertising the brand through zero-alcohol or alcohol products, can result in higher sales and profit margins. Indeed, the marketers of Heineken 0.0 have admitted as much in their submission to Effie Awards Ireland 2021. The Effie Awards, launched in 1968 by the New York American Marketing Association, are an awards programme to honour the most effective advertising efforts.[v] It is the pre-eminent award in the industry, and the award recognises any and all forms of marketing that contribute to a brand’s success.[vi]
Elaborating on their Heineken 0.0 campaign strategy in Ireland, which won a silver medal, the marketers were keen to show that their efforts are increasing brand loyalty and also contributing to increased sales not just of 0.0, but also of the main product – Heineken[vii]. The case study for the campaign states that advertising the non-alcoholic product “drove advocacy through excellent product experience and positive conversation around the brand.”[viii] This also had a beneficial effect on Heineken main brand, with the submission noting that the “success of the Heineken 0.0 campaign has compounded growth for the brand overall in a shrinking market.”[ix]
While broadcast and print advertising was central to the Heineken 0.0 campaign, so too were so-called “zero zones”. These are stand-alone areas developed to advertise products outside of the PHAA mandated structurally separated areas where alcohol is sold in the off trade. This, according to the marketers’ submission, “created a new shopping experience and allowed us to sell outside alcohol’s permissible selling time window.”[x]
Similarly, a cursory analysis of Diageo’s 2024 Annual Report shows that the company sees Guinness 0.0 as part and parcel of the overall Guinness brand. In reporting on increased sales, the report states, “In Europe, we delivered resilient growth, mainly driven by another year of strong momentum and double-digit growth for Guinness, helped in part by Guinness 0.0 for which net sales and volume more than doubled in the year.”. Therefore, as with Heineken 0.0, enhancement of Guinness 0.0 is simultaneously as an enhancement for the main brand.
Industry’s spurious narrative
Meanwhile, the industry is pushing a narrative that these products are contributing to alcohol consumption reduction and so existing regulations should be relaxed, as seen in recent lobbying activity by Diageo to senior government figures, in which the company states “early but encouraging signs of growth could easily be damaged by further unnecessary regulation.”
The alcohol industry, pleading with government for reduced taxation and a loosening of public health regulations regarding alcohol, requested “… a supportive policy and regulatory framework to achieve a shared goal of increasing moderation.” Diageo further claimed, “freedom to market these new products is central to this and additional measures, such as lower rates of VAT for non-alcoholic products in the on-trade, would also be of benefit.”
Such spurious arguments are, however, making headway with government and state economic agencies. Indeed, Diageo was awarded €7.5 million in state funding under the Environmental Aid Scheme to support their production facilities on the basis that they will be making more Guinness 0.0. The Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise appears to think “these efforts reflect a commitment to innovation and sustainability by the company, while meeting the evolving preferences of consumers towards more responsible drinking.”[xi]
While those working in the industry are no doubt patting themselves on the back for hoodwinking many policymakers into believing their specious arguments about the public health benefits of 0.0 products and the need for minimum regulation, people who are working in public health and for whom public health is actually important – including the WHO and many other organisations – are pulling their hair out at the ease at which their misleading statements are accepted without critical analysis. To be clear, there is absolutely no evidence that 0.0 products are contributing to the reduction in alcohol consumption that Ireland has witnessed in the last few years; all the evidence for this reduction points to the controls on price, availability and marketing – the WHO ‘best buys’ policy solutions – that are contained in the PHAA. The irony of the fact that industry is using this reduction in consumption as a reason why regulations should be loosened is lost on no-one working in public health.
0.0 branding in sporting events – a means to promote alcohol
Recent sports events have revealed these practices first hand as big alcohol brands have sought to put their brand at the centre stage of important sporting events. Guinness displayed their logo and name with an additional, barely visible 0.0, onto the pitch during Six Nations matches earlier this year. This has happened despite Diageo’s global ‘Marketing Code’ stating that their marketing must “Only promote Non-Alcoholic Brands to adults.”.[xii] Research from the University of Stirling found that alcohol brand references are being shown at a rate of up to one every 8 seconds on the field of play during some high-profile rugby matches after the PHAA restrictions came into place.[xiii] Similarly, during the recent UEFA Nations League football match between Ireland v England, Carlsberg displayed their logo behind both goal end lines, again, with 0.0 tagged on.
Indeed, there was a particularly egregious example of a zero-alcohol product being advertised on a sports surface even though it was not available on the market.[xiv] Forged Irish Stout 0.0 was prominently displayed on the boxing ring’s canvass during a high-profile Katie Taylor fight in May 2023. Under PHAA rules, alcohol branding should not be displayed in the ring. The manufacturer claimed that the product was in development. This product is still not available (Nov 2024).
This begs the question: why would the people behind Forged stout – no doubt acting on the advice of highly paid and experienced marketers – go to the expense of promoting a product that didn’t exist (and let’s be honest, most likely wasn’t in development considering the product still doesn’t exist 18 months later) if there was no pay-off for Forged full strength? To reasoned observers the answer is obvious: because despite tacking on a 0.0, you are actually marketing the master brand.
Conclusion
On the basis of national and international evidence, it is clear that zero alcohol advertisements are not being pushed because the alcohol industry wants people to drink less, but to circumvent the aforementioned restrictions on where they can advertise their products. Brand sharing means alcohol brands are being marketed to the public outside of the legal restrictions, and this is especially problematic in terms of its impact on children.
Studies have shown that children as young as 3 display brand awareness, remembering both the brand and the product after seeing the brand’s logo, packaging and character, and with brand awareness showing an increase in direct proportion to age.[xv] Brand recognition (choosing the right brand from a number of available visual options) is far more significant than brand recall (mentioning the brand name), with two- to three-year-olds recalling only 1 out of 12 brands, whereas they recognized 8 out of 12 brands, which highlights the critical aspect of logos, brand colours, and other associated branding to overall marketing efforts.[xvi]
It is clear that alcohol brands will do everything they can to get around even the most modest of restrictions, therefore it is imperative that Government, the Minister for Health, the Health Service Executive, and Coimisiún na Meán ensure that the law and broadcasting rules protect against this.
The proven way to reduce alcohol harm is following the WHO ‘best buys’ policy solutions. These solutions, controls on price, marketing and availability, have been proven highly cost-effective, are evidence based, and yield a significant return on investment for governments who adopt them.[xvii]
It is essential that government and state agencies rely on trusted research and evidence when making decisions, rather than on marketing and spin from the alcohol industry. It is worth remembering that vapes were touted by the tobacco industry as a smoking cessation product. Government are now playing catch up with an epidemic of children vaping. Let’s not be taken in by industry spin.
REFERENCES:
[i] Fitzgerald, N., O’Donnell, R., Mitchell, G., Howell, R., Angus, K., Mitchell, H., Morgan, A., Morris. J., Fenton, L., Woodrow, N., Holmes, J., Oldham, M., Garnett, C., Brown J., and Castellina, M. (2024). Changing public perceptions of alcohol, alcohol harms and policies in the UK. Available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/sr-acuk-craft/documents/Alcohol-Harms-Framing-Research-Final-Report-2024.pdf
[ii] Core. (2023). Outlook 23 – Media Market Forecasts for Ireland. Available at: https://www.onecore.ie/intel/outlook-23-media-market-forecasts
[iii] Microsoft Word – Alcohol advertising – non-alcohol variants – DRAFT ASAI Exec.Word export from pdf doc.
[iv] World Health Organization. (2023). A public health perspective on zero- and low-alcohol beverages. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240072152
[v] Effie Worldwide. Available at: https://www.effie.org/worldwide/about
[vi] Effie Worldwide. Available at: https://www.effie.org/worldwide/about
[vii] Effie Awards Ireland. (2021). Effie Awards Ireland 2021 – Awarding Ideas that Work: Case Study Reference Guide. Available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/effie_assets/ckeditor_assets/376/case_study_booklet_-_effie_awards_2021_-_final_version.pdf?1669310772
[viii] Effie Awards Ireland. (2021). Effie Awards Ireland 2021 – Awarding Ideas that Work: Case Study Reference Guide. Available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/effie_assets/ckeditor_assets/376/case_study_booklet_-_effie_awards_2021_-_final_version.pdf?1669310772
[ix] Effie Awards Ireland. (2021). Effie Awards Ireland 2021 – Awarding Ideas that Work: Case Study Reference Guide. Available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/effie_assets/ckeditor_assets/376/case_study_booklet_-_effie_awards_2021_-_final_version.pdf?1669310772
[x] Effie Awards Ireland. (2021). Effie Awards Ireland 2021 – Awarding Ideas that Work: Case Study Reference Guide. Available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/effie_assets/ckeditor_assets/376/case_study_booklet_-_effie_awards_2021_-_final_version.pdf?1669310772
[xi] https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2024-10-02/90/#pq_90
[xii] Diageo. (2023). Marketing Code. Available at: https://www.diageo.com/~/media/Files/D/Diageo-V2/Diageo-Corp/esg/responsible-drinking/marketing-code/diageo-marketing-code-2023.pdf
[xiii] Critchlow, N., Purves, R. (2023). Alcohol branding during rugby union matches in Ireland after commencement of Sect. 15 from the Public Health (Alcohol) Act: a frequency analysis of highlights from the European Rugby Champions Cup and Six Nations Championship. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369383940_Alcohol_branding_during_rugby_union_matches_in_Ireland_after_commencement_of_Sect_15_from_the_Public_Health_Alcohol_Act_a_frequency_analysis_of_highlights_from_the_European_Rugby_Champions_Cup_and_Six
[xiv] Conal Thomas. (2023). Conor McGregor’s promotion of zero-alcohol stout criticised by harm reduction group. Business Post. Available at: Conor McGregor’s promotion of zero-alcohol stout criticised by harm reduction group | Business Post
[xv] Arnas, Y.A., Ogul, I.T.I.G. (2016). The development of brand awareness in young children: how do young children recognize brands? International Journal of Consumer Studies Volume 40, Issue 5 p. 536-542.
[xvi] Valkenburg, P.M., and Buijzen, M. (2005). Identifying determinants of young children’s brand awareness: Television, parents, and peers, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 456-468.
[xvii] World Health Organisation. (2024). Alcohol Fact Sheet. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol
