Alcohol Specific Guidelines

Alcohol Specific Guidelines

General Restrictions

All advertisements in this category must comply with local legislation and all standard industry and regulatory requirements.

Content must include proper disclaimers, age-gate mechanisms and health warnings which shall be present no later than on the landing page linked to the advertisements.

Prohibitions:

Cannot target persons under the legal drinking age in the country where the campaign is being run. For example in the US, no persons under the age of 21 shall be targeted.

Content must never glorify the use of alcohol, promote any health benefits, professional or social benefits or induce the consumption of such alcoholic beverages.

Content may never show the consumption of alcoholic beverages in combination with the use or operation of a vehicle or heavy machinery or with activities that require skill with coordination.

Content may not utilize celebrities, icons, cartoons or people that may be appealing to minors, for example, using characters from a popular children’s show to promote alcohol.

Further restrictions will apply by country as listed below in detail.

Prohibited Countries:

  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Russia
  • Turkey
  • Vietnam
  • Norway
  • Lithuania
  • Russia
  • Afghanistan
  • Brunei
  • Bangladesh
  • Egypt
  • Gambia
  • Kuwait
  • Libya
  • Pakistan
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Turkey
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Yemen
  • Thailand

Countries restrictions

Argentina

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Restrictions & Requirements:

  • All advertising for alcoholic beverages must include these specific health warnings:
    • “Drink in Moderation”
    • “It is illegal to sell this product to anyone under the age of 18”

Prohibited:

  • Campaigns may not target anyone under the legal drinking age.
  • Content cannot feature anyone under the legal drinking age consuming alcohol. This also applies to persons that appear to be under the legal age.

Brazil

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Restrictions & Requirements:

  • Landing pages must include the statutory dislosure as stated below:
    • “Avoid excessive alcohol consumption”

Prohibitions:

  • Content may never associate alcohol consumption with driving, competitive sports, success (social or otherwise) or sexuality.

Canada

Legal Drinking Age: 19 years old in BC, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, PEI, Saskatchewan and Yukon; 18 years old in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec

Prohibitions:

  • Content cannot depict any type of consumption of the alcoholic products.
  • Content cannot induce or urge individuals into purchasing or consuming alcoholic products or beverages.

France

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Restrictions and Requirements:

  • The following disclosures are required on the landing page:
    • “l’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé”
  • Advertising content shall be limited to a description of the product qualities. These qualities may be taste, alcohol content or proof, aging date, ingredients and any other specific attributes of the product.

Prohibitions:

  • No promotions or coupons shall be allowed in the content (i.e. free alcoholic beverages, 50% off on purchase, etc.)
  • Content shall not depict the consumption of alcoholic beverages in a social situation or imply that the product will create social or sexual success.
  • Content shall not target persons under the legal drinking age at any time.

Germany

Legal Drinking Age: 16 years old for beers and wine; 18 years old for spirits

Restrictions and Requirements:

  • All advertisements must ensure that they promote responsible alcohol consumption and not glorify the consumption of alcohol.

Prohibitions:

  • At no time can any advertisements promote abuse of alcoholic beverages.
  • Content cannot show visibly impaired or intoxicated persons.
  • Content linking alcohol with aggressive or dangerous conduct shall not be allowed at any time.
  • Content may not trivialize or mock abstention from alcohol consumption.
  • Content cannot feature persons under the age of 18 or who appear to be under the age of 18.
  • Athletes cannot be used to promote alcoholic beverages in any advertisements.
  • Content will not allude to alcohol increasing changes of success in a social or sexual setting.
  • Content will not allude to high alcohol proof/content as a quality indicator.

Mexico

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Restrictions and Requirements:

  • All advertisements for alcoholic products need to be approved by the Mexico Secretary of Health and such approval must be presented to Teads.

New Zealand

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Prohibitions:

  • Content will not contain promotions, coupons or free samples or products for alcoholic products.
  • Advertisements cannot be attractive to persons under the legal drinking age.
  • Advertisements cannot depict persons under the legal drinking age.
  • Content cannot encourage underage drinking or excessive consumption.

Spain

Legal Drinking Age: 16 years old

Prohibitions:

  • Content needs to be targeted at persons over the legal age of drinking.
  • Content cannot suggest that alcoholic beverages will improve physical or sexual performance or improve health in any way.
  • Content cannot glorify alcohol consumption or allude to better social success.
  • Content cannot promote irresponsible or excessive alcohol consumption.

United Kingdom

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years old

Prohibitions:

  • Advertisement cannot be targeted to individuals below the legal drinking age.
  • Advertisements cannot use any persons that are or seem to be under the age of 25.
  • Advertisements must not show alcohol consumption in the workplace.
  • Content cannot show consumption of alcohol in combination with the operation of heavy machinery or driving any type of vehicle.
  • Content cannot depict the consumption of alcohol in conjunction with the participation in watersports.
  • There cannot be any associations made between alcohol and sexual or social success.

United States

Legal Drinking Age: 21 years old

Restrictions and Requirements:

  • Landing pages must be age gated at all times.
  • Content must include the legal disclosures required by law.

Prohibitions:

  • Content cannot be targeted to persons under the legal drinking age.

European Union

Legal Drinking Age:

Restrictions and Requirements:

  • May not be aimed specifically at minors or, in particular, depict minors consuming these beverages
  • Shall not link the consumption of alcohol to enhanced physical performance or to driving
  • Shall not create the impression that the consumption of alcohol contributes towards social or sexual success
  • Shall not claim that alcohol has therapeutic qualities or that it is a stimulant, a sedative or a means of resolving personal conflicts
  • Shall not encourage immoderate consumption of alcohol or present abstinence or moderation in a negative light
  • Shall not place emphasis on high alcoholic content as being a positive quality of the beverages