“Shocking” alcohol adverts on kids clothes

Children’s clothing branded with a Bourbon company’s logo has been identified as one of the most irresponsible examples of alcohol advertising in Australia.

Jim Beam has been asked to reconsider its “irresponsible” sponsorship of the V8 Supercars motorsport

Australia’s independent Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) has listed its ‘Top 10 alcohol advertising shockers of 2012-13’, as part of its first annual report.

The Jim Beam Racing Kids Team clothing line, which included three different children’s t-shirts, a jacket and cap, featured Jim Beam’s unmistakable colours and branding, with the words ‘Jim Beam’ replaced by ‘The Team’.

A complaint made to the AARB highlighted the inappropriateness for “children to be wearing alcohol company-branded clothing,” as well as the high exposure the line gave children to the Jim Beam branding.

The AARB requested that the clothing line be removed immediately. A spokesperson for Beam Global Australia stated that the Jim Beam Racing Kids Team clothing range “carries the brand identities of the various team partners and relates to the Dick Johnson Racing Team, but does not and did not carry the Jim Beam brand”.

Amongst the other advertisements called into question by the AARB, are:

· Smirnoff vodka’s sponsorship of music festivals Creamfields and Groovin’ in the Moo, which target young people.

· Jim Beam’s ‘Unleash the Beast’ series of posters by Jim Beam on Campus, which featured young people that looked under 25 years of age and increased exposure to young people in a university environment.

· An advertisement for Eristoff vodka on a bus shelter next to a children’s playground in Adelaide, placed by Bacardi Lion.

· The name and packaging of Skinnygirl Cocktails, which was found by the AARB to “have strong appeal to young people while the term ‘skinny’ could be viewed as suggesting you will not gain weight when consuming the product”. The AARB has asked Beam Global Australia to reconsider its use of imagery and design.

“The creativity shown by the alcohol industry in promotion of their products is shocking and concerning, especially in the absence of any serious constraints,” said Professor Fiona Stanley, chair of the AARB. “There are too many examples of promotions that will appeal to children, even products that appear to be designed and promoted for the youthful palate, and advertisements placed where children are likely to be exposed. It is simply wrong that children are exposed to so much alcohol promotion both directly and through areas such as sport sponsorship and online promotion.”

She added that self-regulation of advertising in the alcohol industry had been “a failure”, likening its effectiveness to asking a burglar to fix the locks on your front door. “They will say you are protected, but you are not”.

The AARB, which has been running for just one year, claims to have received more complaints than the industry’s self-regulatory process.

“It is encouraging that some advertisers have acted on the basis of community concern and have followed our recommendations,” added Stanley. “We want to see more advertisers recognise that alcohol is no ordinary product, can cause immense harm, and should not be irresponsibly advertised.”

Alcohol companies are no strangers to pushing the boundaries when it comes to alcohol advertising. In April The Spirits Business rounded up the top 10 greatest – and strangest – spirit advertisements in the world.