Law on the prohibition of advertising of alcoholic products. Legitimate business

Sale of draft beer - profitable business. But to attract buyers will need not only delicious varieties of drinks. We need a bright sign and a thoughtful advertising campaign.

Advertising on the facade: how to decorate a draft beer store

Beer shops are designed for walking distance. A person will not go to another district of the city to buy a liter of beer if there is similar store. Therefore, the most effective marketing tool for a draft beer store is outdoor advertising: a signboard, banners, streamers, pillars, etc.

• Range
• Bonus programs
• Discounts

Pay particular attention to prices and discounts. A person passing by should think: “This is cheap, I haven’t been here yet, I need to try what they sell.” The main goal is to interest the buyer. Everything else depends on the quality of service and the beer sold.

Do not use unnecessary elements in advertising. Images of two-meter mugs do not say anything. As well as photographs of people with beer. If you want to make the store brighter, come up with an original image. And even better - a memorable logo that will fit into your corporate identity.

How to legally advertise beer

Draft beer shops are often prosecuted for violating the liquor advertising law. According to the document, the ways in which liquor is advertised are severely limited.

For example, two different stores - "Buchen House" in Chelyabinsk and "Pivnoff" in Omsk used the same advertisement. For which both almost received a fine. The reason is the use of the image of people with beer in outdoor advertising.

Federal Law No. 38-FZ of March 13, 2006 states that beer advertising cannot be placed on roofs, walls of buildings or near them. This means that near the store you have no right to place banners, pillars with the image of beer or an inscription in the style of “We have the most delicious beer on tap. Tired after work? Have a beer!"

We follow the letter of the law

Be careful with advertisements for a draft beer store. Handing out flyers outside of a store is against the law, inside it is not. There are many such subtleties. Therefore, before installing advertising or holding promotions, it is better to consult a lawyer. He will tell you what can cause the attention of regulatory authorities and how to protect yourself from violations.

What to do if an ad is found to be illegal

Antimonopoly service said that your advertising is against the law? Remove it urgently. Practice shows that many stores guilty of violating the law on advertising escaped punishment. Their owners quickly removed the advertisement before a formal charge was made.

In pursuit of customers, some beer store owners resort to illegal and sometimes unethical advertising. Try to avoid such methods. They lead to the opposite effect, they can cause dissatisfaction with customers and regulatory authorities.

Do not use obscene and obscene language

Even a reference to obscene words can cause indignation among clients and civil services. A striking example- advertising bonus program Piv&Ko store in Sverdlovsk.

Despite the absence of direct use of obscene language, the antimonopoly service considered that the inscription "Oh like ah" violates advertising laws.

Don't mention beer in ads

Don't directly list your store specialty and don't use a beer image. You can freely advertise the store with the wording: “More than 50 varieties of draft drinks, fish and snacks!” It will be clear to buyers that draft drinks mean beer. But legally, it's just advertising.

A good example is an advertisement for the Birma chain of stores. The bright yellow corporate color is a direct reference to beer. On outdoor advertising, there are not “beer” inscriptions or foam, but part of the bottles. "Craft drinks" sounds legal, but it's obviously beer.

Be creative

How to save money on outdoor advertising

Option 1. Use inexpensive materials and small space. With a creative approach, even a small area can be styled as a "beer cellar" at minimal cost.

Option 2. If you haven't opened your store yet, consider offerings ready business or franchises.

When buying a functioning beer store, you will save on outdoor advertising and get a base of regular customers.

Franchising will help you open a business under a well-known brand and get the support of an experienced company. The franchisor will not only teach you about the business, help you set up workflows, but also share effective advertising methods and materials.

Where can you advertise beer?

Who can advertise beer:

individual entrepreneur or entity,
manufacturer or seller.

Where can you advertise beer?

• in printed periodicals, except for the cover, first and last pages of newspapers and magazines;
• on television and radio during the broadcast in live or in the record sports competitions(including sports matches, games, fights, races), as well as on TV channels specializing in materials and messages of a physical culture and sports nature, except for children's and youth sports events;
• in places retail alcoholic products. Be careful with ads shopping malls, since not the entire building of the shopping center is considered the place for the sale of alcoholic products, but only a certain retail area. Therefore, beer audio advertising broadcast to the entire shopping center is prohibited;
• in sports facilities and at a distance of 100 meters from them, but only during official sporting events. Such advertising of beer is allowed only with verbal designations: only the name of the product (for example, the Cooler Lime trademark) or the name of the manufacturer (for example, the Baltika brand).

Where you can not advertise beer:

• on the Internet (social networks, contextual advertising). In this case, the administrator of the domain name will be recognized as the advertiser (UFAS Clarification No. AK/29977 dated September 13, 2012 "On Advertising on the Internet").
• on the front and back pages of newspapers and the first and last pages and covers of magazines;
• in printed publications intended for minors, audio and video products;
• in television programs and radio programs, with the exception of broadcasting live or in recordings of sports competitions (including sports matches, games, fights, races, except for children's and youth sports competitions, as well as on TV channels and radio channels specializing in materials and messages of physical culture and sports character);
• for film and video services;
• on all types of public transport vehicles and with their use, outside and inside buildings, structures that ensure the functioning of public transport vehicles (except for places of retail sale of alcoholic products);
• using technical means of stable territorial placement (advertising structures) mounted and placed on roofs, external walls and other structural elements of buildings, structures, structures or outside them;
• in children's, educational, medical, sanatorium, health, military organizations, theaters, circuses, museums, houses and palaces of culture, concert and exhibition halls, libraries, lecture halls, planetariums and at a distance closer than one hundred meters from the buildings, structures, structures occupied by them.

Special conditions for advertising beer

Beer advertising is also subject to other requirements of Article 21 of the Advertising Law relating to alcoholic products. For example, a warning label about the dangers of excessive consumption of alcoholic products is required, which should be at least 10% of the advertising area (space).

But non-alcoholic beer does not fall under the concept of alcoholic products, since it contains no more than 0.5 percent of ethyl alcohol in the volume of finished products. Therefore, it can be advertised without the restrictions established by Article 21 of the Advertising Law. The Advertising Expert Council under the FAS Russia confirmed this position at a meeting on October 9, 2015, where the issue of advertising non-alcoholic beer Bud on TV was considered. Subsequently, this position was reflected in the Letter of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of June 15, 2016 No. SP / 40322/16 "On Advertising Non-Alcoholic Beer".

Often asked:“I will write in an advertisement that I sell foamy, draft drinks, I will avoid any mention of beer, and if they ask me what I am advertising, I will answer that kvass. This is also a foamy drink ”(variations - fresh draft, soft drinks on tap). This excuse won't work if your main product line is beer. And if you sell kvass, then write about kvass. Any attempts to convince the antimonopolists of the opposite are useless, they can also turn against you. The OFAS commissions employ specialists who cannot be fooled by such explanations, and numerous examples from practice confirm this.

A promotional video for Five Lakes vodka, starring Roman Burtsev, Leonardo DiCaprio's Russian doppelgänger, in just a week collected over 1.2 million views on YouTube. Russian law prohibits the use of images of people in alcohol advertising, so such a video cannot appear on TV. YouTube and social media- another thing.

A video about a man with the appearance of a heavy idol who is “tired of fakeness”, throws an SUV with a beauty into a field and sails away from them in a boat into the dawn mist, does not focus on drinking. A bottle of Five Lakes appears in the frame for a moment. In which case, brand representatives can say that this is not an advertisement at all, but a short film. Alcohol advertising has long been fought in Russia and abroad, and manufacturers have managed to find a lot of ways to balance on the verge of “possible” and “impossible”.

“The absence of clear criteria for violation or, on the contrary, excessive detailed description what is prohibited, allow alcohol producers to circumvent the law quite simply,” explains Svetlana Burtseva, chairman of the Lyubertsy Bar Association. In addition, alcohol advertising facilitates the complexity of examining the content of slogans. The Secret collected the most elegant tricks alcohol producers use to get around the bans and discussed them with a lawyer*.

Nobody drinks

Sylvester Stallone - main character roller advertising vodka "Russian ice". The actor talks about his Russian roots: "The character was inherited from the great-grandmother." In the final close-up they show a bottle of vodka, and the voice-over says: “Russian ice. There is something Russian in everyone.”

As in the case with fresh video"Five Lakes", here one could find fault with the fact that people appear in the video. The Law "On Advertising" (prohibits the use of "images of people and animals, including those made with the help of animation" in alcohol advertising).

The brand, according to Svetlana Burtseva from the Lyubertsy Bar Association, most likely will not have problems: “Yes, advertising uses the image of a person, but does not show alcohol consumption. This move allows you to bypass the formal ban on the presence of people in the frame.

Similar story with advertising Absolut vodka, which not only uses the images of people, but also transparently hints that alcohol liberates and helps to find a partner. In the video, the scene of the acquaintance of a man and a woman in a nightclub is interspersed with large shots of drinking.

According to Russian law, advertising of alcoholic beverages must not state that their use is "important for achieving personal success, improves physical or emotional state." The secret is that the protagonists of the video pour some colorless liquid from a decanter into glasses - the bottle of Absolut does not appear in the frame.

Wordplay

Unlike Russian law, advertising of alcoholic beverages on television and on the Internet is allowed in the United States. Also in America there is no ban on the presence of people and animals in the frame. At the same time, alcohol advertising can only be shown on channels that have at least 70% of the audience over 21 years old, but this restriction can be bypassed.

Advertisement for Budweiser beer looks ambiguous, because it looks more like a family short film. She talks about the friendship between a puppy and a horse. The video plays with the name of the beer - best buds ( best friends), which is consonant with Budweiser and Bud, as this beer is also called. In 2014, this video was shown during a break final game for the title of champion of the National Football League, the world's most watched sporting event.

Svetlana Burtseva believes that there were no obvious violations of American law here, however, there is an indirect exploitation of the theme of friendship: “The features of the visual series allow you to effectively influence an audience under 21 years old. But since the use of animal images in alcohol advertising is not prohibited, it makes it almost impossible to successfully prosecute.”

Undercover advertising

Non-alcoholic beverage advertising allows you to promote the entire line of drinks of the brand. This is one of the oldest tricks. For example, non-alcoholic beer contains less than 0.5% of the ethyl alcohol content of the finished product, so it is not alcoholic and can be advertised by people and animals.

By law, the labels of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages must differ, but nothing is said about the materiality of the difference. Yes, in roller At Baltika, we see a white can of Baltika 0 beer, which in its design resembles the alcohol-containing Baltika 7.

A similar situation with advertising beer Hoegaarden, which starred Russian restaurateur Alexei Zimin and American action movie star Chuck Norris. The video, in short, talks about how great it is to drink a good dinner with beer. The fact that non-alcoholic beer is meant is indicated only by the credits that appear at the beginning and end, and barely conspicuous mark"0.0%" on the glasses that Zimin and Norris clink glasses.

“The Hoegaarden ad uses a classic move: the entire product line is promoted by demonstrating a specific drink,” sums up Svetlana Burtseva. “At the same time, the manufacturer avoids mentioning the significant differences of this particular type of product from others produced under the same brand, in the same cans and bottles.”

Veiled calls

Unlike the videos discussed above, advertising"Green Mark" seems clean as a tear (legally). The video shows only a bottle and a glass with ice, into which a clear liquid is first poured, then something like tomato juice. Everything spoils the final - we see on the screen the slogan "One is not enough!" Purists may see this as an indirect call to excessive drinking.

According to lawyers, the fact of violation in such a situation will be difficult to prove due to the lack of clear criteria in the law. Either the "Green Mark" calls not to take a long break between the first and second, or it suggests diluting, or something else.

In advertising roller Nemiroff vodka has the phrase “Nemiroff. Be yourself". It seems to be clear what they are hinting at - apparently, this vodka adds self-confidence to the drinker. But you can come up with dozens of other interpretations. To prove that advertising links alcohol consumption with the lifestyle of a successful person will not work.

*The material explored plot moves, not placement issues. Since 2012, advertising of alcohol on television and on the Internet has been banned. In 2014, there were minor indulgences for advertising on TV, and on the Internet, companies circumvent the ban - for example, by publishing the same videos outside the Russian domain zone.

Advertising for alcoholic beverages disappeared from the media in 2012, it was removed from printed publications, from outdoor advertising objects, from the Internet. Television and radio broadcasting have also been cleared of alcohol-themed commercials. Before that, beer could be advertised from 22:00 to 06:00 in the morning.

Two years later, the manufacturers of the foamy drink were given an indulgence, allowing advertising during the broadcast of sports matches and on specialized TV channels and radio stations.

Where you can not advertise alcoholic products

• In children's media;
• On any objects of outdoor advertising: billboards, stretch marks,;
• In medical, children's, educational, sports, cultural institutions and close to one hundred meters from them;
• In the Internet.

What Not to Show in Alcohol Ads

• You can not talk about the benefits of alcohol;
• To condemn a sober way of life and those who do not drink;
• It cannot be asserted that alcoholic drinks help achieve recognition, success, career development, personal achievements, etc.;
• Hint that alcohol refreshes and quenches thirst;
• Use images of people, animals, even drawn or animated;
• Write that the drink contains useful substances;
• Post photos of bottles, glasses;
• Depict the act of drinking.

Amendments in legislation

The amendments to the law, effective July 22, 2014, have significant changes to help advertisers understand how they can present products. These changes appeared in connection with the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup. That is why they are only valid until January 1, 2019.

Where is it allowed to advertise beer?

1. The print media can advertise beer, excluding the front and back pages and covers of newspapers and magazines. This amendment does not apply to children's publications and is still prohibited;
2. IN television programs if they show sports events, either live or recorded. This applies to showing races, matches, fights, races, etc. But if children's or youth competitions are shown, then, of course, advertising of alcoholic products is prohibited;
3. At stadiums, grounds, skating rinks during sports matches and within a radius of one hundred meters from them. At the same time, there is an important explanation of this law: advertising should not contain images of bottles, cans, mugs of beer, visual displays of acts of alcohol consumption. Also, there should not be slogans, appeals, information about the effect produced, information about the quality or content of the product.

1. You can advertise only with words, inscriptions, names of brewing companies that are not complemented by visual images. Another important addition is that advertising can only be placed during those matches that are included in the single calendar plan sports events, approved by the executive authorities of the Russian Federation. Any advertising of alcohol should contain words about its dangers. At the same time, such inscriptions must be at least 10% of the area of ​​the advertising banner or screen. In fact, the law on alcohol advertising does not prohibit it from being promoted only at retail outlets, namely in stores, supermarkets, wine departments, hypermarkets, stalls that have acquired a legal license to sell alcohol.

Non-alcoholic beer advertisement

Since March 1, 2016, Russian brewers have introduced a special marking, which can be used to indicate that the advertised beer is non-alcoholic. A special pictogram will show this to all viewers, and there will be additional sounding of this fact on the radio. The unified sign was developed jointly with the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

The ability to advertise non-alcoholic beer provides an opportunity to draw consumers' attention to the brand of beer itself. The emphasis in advertising messages is on the brand itself, which means that all other varieties of this beer will attract buyers. For example, non-alcoholic beer brands such as Baltika, Bud or Bavaria are on everyone's lips, and those who are looking for a higher percentage of alcohol will find the right beer by brand.

The FAS letter dated June 15, 2016 “On Non-Alcoholic Beer Advertising” states that alcoholic products include drinks with an alcohol content of more than 0.5%. If the percentage of alcohol does not exceed this limit, then such beer is considered non-alcoholic and is allowed for advertising. At the same time, advertising should not contain hints of a higher alcohol content. And besides, there should be a pictogram emphasizing that the beer is non-alcoholic. Otherwise, advertising falls under the general law.

Advertising of Russian wine and champagne

Since the beginning of 2015, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree authorizing the advertising of wine, sparkling wine (champagne) produced in Russia at night from 11 pm to 7 am. Advertising is allowed on television and radio, except for programs broadcast live or dedicated to children and youth. sports. It is also possible to advertise Russian wine in magazines and newspapers, except for the covers, as well as the first and last pages.

Vodka advertising ban

Advertising of vodka is allowed only in places where it is sold. In an attempt to circumvent the ban, Zaycev.net offered to use cover art for songs downloaded from their site to advertise. These covers are only visible when playing music on users' devices, which means that advertising is not on the Internet and is not banned. But, according to representatives of the FAS, this is unacceptable, and will inevitably fall under the law banning advertising.

Examples of advertisements for alcoholic products

Creative ideas allow behind the scenes advertising of alcohol. Such examples can be given in relation to Ukrainian advertisers. This is the usual creation of images that evoke associations, but visually depict completely different objects. For example, a picture of a sweaty magazine with the inscription “Myagkov”, a red pepper pod beating a gong, or friends playing outright in the Soyuz-Viktana video clip. quite obvious to potential consumers of alcoholic products.

1. 8. Reports on parties in glossy magazines (not on the covers and not on the last pages), publication of photos of secular parties. Alcobrands are placed on the background shaded or blurred plan;
2. 9. Use of brands for other products. For example, a beer or vodka company starts producing mineral water, food, household items and advertises under a well-known alcohol brand. Although the FAS is very strict with regard to such substitutions, there are examples in history when such “frills” were stopped;
3. 10. Advertising is prohibited in printed periodicals, but it is allowed in ordinary printed publications - brochures, books, catalogs, booklets. It should be remembered that such publications can only be distributed in places where alcohol is directly traded: bars, shops, restaurants, cafes.

And here is a video clip about the hidden manipulation of the minds of teenagers:

The President signed amendments to the law: advertising of beer on television, print and outdoor media will be allowed. However, with all the liberalization of legislation, and restrictions on the promotion of beer, there are still quite a few. About this - a column of the law firm "Vetrov and partners".

Author - lawyer of the firm "Vetrov and partners" Zoya Levasheva
"Beer and sports - do not spill water!" - thought the legislators and immediately adopted in the third reading amendments to the law on advertising. And President Vladimir Putin signed this law on July 22. There are only three “beer” changes: firstly, the ban on advertising in print media has been lifted, secondly, it has been allowed to “promote” a foamy drink during sports television broadcasts, and thirdly, it is now possible to advertise beer and its producers in stadiums and other sports facilities. Let us examine in detail the possibilities of each of the cases.

Advertising in newspapers and magazines

For example, the Brewing Company Baltic” was fined for placing on the cover of even its own corporate magazine “My Baltika” an image of a bottle of Premium Quality alcoholic beverages “KARMI Sensual Mango-Orange”. The fine amounted to 101,000 rubles, and the company failed to appeal this decision.

However, in this case, Baltika would not have been saved by new amendments to the law, because information about the drink was placed on the cover.

Accordingly, it is possible to advertise beer inside the printed media, and here the producers of the foamy drink are not limited in any way.

Altai beer producers consider the regional beverage festival "", which was held for the second time in June 2014, one of the few opportunities to promote their products - mainly beer. However, despite the amendments to the law on advertising, Altayfest will remain a festival primarily of drinks: the event is not a sporting event.

Advertising during sports broadcasts

With the entry into force of the new law, advertising of beer is allowed during live broadcasts or recordings of broadcasts of sports competitions: matches, games, fights, races. No exception - and specialized sports TV channels.

This amendment, if it had been in effect already in March of last year, would still not become the basis for relieving CJSC Telesport from administrative responsibility. Thus, having organized a TV broadcast of a friendly match between the football teams of Russia and Brazil on the air of the SPORT 1 and RUSSIA 1 TV channels, the company aired a computer advertisement for strong alcohol.

It must be remembered that the "liberalization" of advertising laws applies only to beer - the ban on vodka remains. Changes in the law will not affect even wine. The draft law clearly states that the norms will deal only with the advertising of beer and beer-based drinks.

Outdoor advertising

You can now advertise beer in sports venues. Namely, in sports and recreation, sports facilities, as well as within 100 meters from such facilities. An important clarification: it is allowed to advertise not only the beer itself, but also the image promotion of its producer.

In May 2014, OFAS Altai Territory the Beer Club restaurant in Barnaul, as well as the Khmel i Malt, Peter I and Laguna Plus Rubtsovsk establishments - they were convicted of illegal advertising of beer. On the banners of the latter, in particular, were depicted cartoon people and mugs full of beer.

But, as for beer advertising on outdoor media, it is still prohibited to place alcohol advertising on buildings: advertising structures on roofs, external walls, and other structural elements of buildings, structures, structures or outside them.

An illustration is the case considered by the FAS Office for the Altai Territory. Entrepreneurs, owners of the Good Beer store, which was located in a residential building, placed an image of a filled mug of beer next to the name of the store. On the fence near this house, there were also two banners with advertisements and a pointer to the location of the store. And the image, based on the law, can also be an advertisement, it does not have to contain text. As a result, the OFAS issued an order to the entrepreneur with a warning about the possibility of bringing him to administrative responsibility under Article 14.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, if an entrepreneur faces a fine of 4 to 20 thousand rubles, then for an organization the amount of a fine for the same offense will be from 100 to 500 thousand rubles.

The rubric's partner is the law firm "". Provides services for the protection of intellectual property, litigation, real estate, tax law, as well as full legal support for business.
However, advertising should not be confused with a sign that an organization, by virtue of the Consumer Protection Law, must place at its entrance. To avoid a fine, the information on the sign must contain only the company name of the organization, its location and mode of operation. But already inside the establishment itself, advertising of beer is allowed.

It is worth noting that all these amendments are temporary: they will lose their force on January 1, 2019 - after the year of the World Cup, which will be held in Russia. In fact, the amendments are aimed at ensuring that all FIFA requirements are met when holding such competitions. It would seem that the law contradicts the orientation towards healthy lifestyle life, but, as noted by the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, “this law is unlikely to dramatically affect the increase in beer consumption in four years.”

Picture used as title illustration Spanish artist Diego Velasquez "The Triumph of Bacchus" As you know, Bacchus ancient Greek mythology is the god of wine and pleasure. Under some assumptions, the adoption of amendments to the law on beer advertising can be considered a kind of "triumph" of this deity.

The law firm "Vetrov and Partners" specializes in business services. Provides services for the protection of intellectual property, litigation, real estate, tax law, as well as full legal support for business.