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Along with fags and fast food, alcohol dwells in the netherland of the Government’s “not good for you” files.

With underage and binge drinking commanding a greater share of the public debate, greater restrictions on alcohol advertising are firmly on the policy agenda.

Statutory regulator Ofcom has proposed changes to the rules on advertising alcohol, outlawing the use of animals, animation or celebrities, in a bid to curb the appeal to under-18s.

But the industry warns this would stifle innovation since as many as 86% of current ads would fail to meet the stringent new guidelines, according to a study by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre.

The proposals are still under consultation, but the alcohol advertising industry is clearly under scrutiny and may be forced to make significant changes. Will we eventually see alcohol treated in the way tobacco is – where even the packaging carries huge warnings?

At the Westminster Diet and Health Forum last week, representatives from the Advertising Association, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and Bacardi complained that the proposed regulations were “too strict” and would “limit creativity”. As the debate continues, advertisers are rethinking how they portray alcohol and are preparing for a new genre of advertising.

Alistair Bannerman, of Starcom Mediavest, is the account director for Scottish Courage, which includes brands such as Foster’s, Kronenbourg 1664 and Miller.

“We mostly do beer advertising and the single-biggest issue I can see is that Ofcom is saying that alcohol can’t be seen to be flirtatious or add to your sex appeal which is what traditionally alcohol advertising has been about,” Bannerman says. “So it’s forcing the brewers to focus on their product, as opposed to focusing on what you do when you drink it.”

Already this take on advertising has begun to shine through with recent beer ads focusing on brewing expertise and the legacy and prominence of the product.

Simply talking about the virtues of the liquid in question does put some stumbling blocks in place for advertisers.

“It’s a relatively commoditised market in terms of product, but if your brand is about being fun, you can’t say that anymore and brewers are being forced to communicate and be more clever,” Bannerman says.

“TV advertising will be the first to get clobbered and brewers will have to look at other methods to communicate to young consumers, for example through music and sport, as some brewers are already doing.”

Andrew Canter, head of client services at MPG, which represents Pernod Ricard, explains that, because of the proposed shake up, a lot of alcohol brands are already going through a review stage.

Canter believes the proposed restrictions would mean dramatic changes for alcohol advertising.

“It seems that alcohol is heading the way tobacco did and the challenge is for advertisers to come up with advertising that works within the guidelines, ” says Canter. “It makes it very limiting to have ads that are very prescriptive – we have to be a bit more subtle than that.”

Room for manoeuvre

There is still some time before the proposals are made law and Canter thinks there is room for manoeuvre.

“I don’t think it will go through in its current state, but obviously Ofcom is there to flex its muscles in terms of making its mark and it will make sure some kind of regulation will come in – which in itself is not a bad thing, but it has approached it from the wrong way round,” Canter adds.

Guy Abrahams, strategy director at BLM, which represents clients such as Fuller’s brewery, WKD and Threshers, says TV advertising has been unfairly targeted.

“TV advertising is the most visible, so people attack it. There are other forms of marketing that are causing the problems and what it means for TV is that you’re just taking money out of the TV marketplace,” Abrahams says.

“Anything that takes money out of TV ads punishes the consumer because it takes money out of their entertainment.”

Nick Lawson, joint managing director of MediaCom, says the alcohol industry accepts that changes need to be made and ultimately that may be positive.

“At present, the template for a drinks commercial is one joke.

Make the audience laugh and Bob’s your uncle,” Lawson says.

“Under the new rules, creatives will be more challenged and this is no bad thing as it will raise the standard of advertising.”

Like many, Lawson is concerned at the depth of alterations that may be made.

“I read that something like the Peter Kay ad could be banned and if that happens, it’s like the nanny state gone mad. It’s an inoffensive, witty ad and in my view doesn’t encourage underage drinking at all,” he says.

“The right route is some sort of compromise between the two – no one wants to encourage irresponsible drinking, but then total nanny state is just daft.”

Andrew Brown, director general of the Advertising Association, points out that there is no suggestion of an outright ban on alcohol advertising, as has been bandied about in some sections of the media, but how Ofcom has chosen to tackle the changing drinking environment.

“The Ofcom proposals have gone further than the industry wants or what is required and in our view it is very heavy handed with a kind of draconian attention to detail,” Brown says.

While the industry recognises that something should be done, Brown feels Ofcom’s proposals should be looked at.

“There is no reason to go as far as Ofcom wants,” he says. “One is trying to identify mischief to eradicate and I don’t think one should penalise the innocent in pursuit of the guilty.”

A spokesperson from Ofcom explains that the proposals were a consultation and subject to change: “One of the main things that the consultation document does say is that advertising for under 18s shouldn’t be encouraged. In the guidelines it says it might want to look at what type of music and celebrity endorsement is used so it doesn’t appeal to younger people, but it’s only in the guidelines, not in the rules proposals – they’re two separate issues.”

Widespread doubt

Even if all Ofcom’s proposals are passed there is widespread doubt about whether they will have the desired effect. With pubs on every high street in the country offering cut-price happy hours, it is not just advertisers who are responsible for curbing binge and underage drinking.

Starcom Mediavest’s Bannerman does not expect to see an immediate effect on sales when changes are made.

“I don’t think you’ll suddenly see a nation of more responsible drinkers – that’ll come if the pub companies adopt a more responsible sales policy,” he says.

“The way alcohol is sold has changed, which means the responsibility isn’t always with the brewer.

“The Government seems to be focusing its efforts on brewers where a lot of the faults lie with pub companies.”

MPG’s Canter concurs: “What we need to do is look at this whole area, we don’t condone underage or binge drinking, but maybe it’s the licensing laws that should be changed. Alcohol is a big part of our social make up and has become synonymous with bad things, but I’m not sure that these conclusions can be drawn. People can only control themselves – it’s a social issue not an advertising issue.”

Tobacco advertising: a case in point

Could alcohol advertising go the same way as tobacco advertising, which, over a 40-year time-span, ended up being banned outright? 1962: Following a report that concluded smoking was a cause of lung cancer, bronchitis and probably contributes to heart disease, the Royal College of Physicians makes a recommendation for tougher laws on cigarette sales and advertising, and smoking in public places.

1965: The Government bans cigarette advertising on TV.

1975: Imperial Tobacco agrees to drop brand names and logos from racing cars in UK races as control of tobacco advertising switches from the industry to the independent Advertising Standards Authority.

1986: New advertising and promotion guidelines agreed, including banning tobacco advertising in cinemas and a range of new health warnings.

1997: New Labour pledges to ban tobacco advertising, but calls for F1 to be exempt from proposed EU directive on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. It backs down in the face of widespread criticism.

2002: Legislation passed banning tobacco advertising and the deadline for phasing out sponsorship of F1 brought forward.

2003: Direct mail advertising ceases while sponsorship of sport, not including worldwide events, ends. F1 sponsorship to end July 2005