DISTILLERS GROUP BACK ON THE AIRWAVES
By Adnews Staff
Yesterday was the first day that hard liquor makers were allowed to advertise on television and radio. To mark the occasion, the Ottawa-based Association of Canadian Distillers released a radio spot that was turned down in 1987 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommuniciatons Commission and became the basis of legal challenge from the association. In June a federal court ruled that spirits manufacturers may advertise their wares in broadcast media. The court decided that regulations preventing them from doing so are discriminatory and in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While whiskey and gin spots were previously prohibited, beer and wine commercials were allowed. The radio commercial in contention deals with drinking and driving. It warns listeners that they take in the same amount of alcohol whether they drink a bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a cocktail made with hard liquor. The association is asking radio stations to run this spot free as a public service. Communications vice-president Françoise Parent told Adnews the association would be setting a budget aside for public service announcements next year. She said the liquor body hopes to run different messages in co-operation with other bodies, such as organizations combating drug abuse. If it is a local campaign, then the local organization's ad agency would probably be used, said Parent. If it is a national campaign, she would like to go through a bidding process, for the sake of fairness and to get the best.