Alcohol promotion and its regulation: Thai experience Thaksaphon Thamarangsi Specific regulation on advertisement of alcoholic beverages is quite new in Thailand. The most comprehensive progress in alcohol advertising control was in 2003, when the Cabinet endorsed the proposal of the Road Safety Center. Before that, alcohol promotion was controlled by non-specific regulation, including regulation on food, on general advertising, on publishing. Laws on advertising regulation are enforced by three public agencies; Food and Drug Administration, Public Relation Department and Office of consumer Protection Board. However, the regulation is not monitored by any public organization. There has not been any voluntary code of practice on alcohol promotion, although alcohol industry has called for self regulated framework before broadcast banning law was enacted. Effectiveness of existing alcohol promotion regulation is limited by three factors; 1) lack of comprehensiveness of regulation framework, 2) breaching of legal regulation, and 3) circumventing of regulation. These following examples will demonstrate how alcohol is currently promoted in Thailand.

A. Lack of comprehensiveness in regulation framework Legal Framework on regulation of alcohol promotion in Thailand covers for only broadcast, billboard, cinema and print media. This means that alcohol still could be promoted in many ways, including by internet (at alcohol company website or general website), by broadcast exemptions, by sponsorship, by promotion on site of consumption and advertising on vehicles. Appearance of alcoholic beverage brand (name and logo) without referring to alcoholic beverages in the following approaches are allowed to broadcast ; live sport event broadcasting, advertising of brand sharing products, and using name of alcoholic beverage as program’s title or part of title.

Internet

Sports broadcast

Beer advertisement in general and specific website (this website is about entertainment news which is attractive for youth, clicking on it will lead to company website)

Live domestic sport broadcast: product banners are placed in common seen areas

Advertising in sport events from abroad (left and middle: promotion through English Premier League, right: broadcasting of power boat racing)

Thailand Open 2005: (also see Miss Universe as beer presenters in celebrating ceremony, wearing Singha beer

Sponsorship events Sport events

Left upper: ‘Thai cup’ National local sport event, named after ‘Thai Beer’ Right upper : Press conference for an alcohol company to support 2006 World Cup live broadcasting (the mascots ‘elephant’ is the brand of beer) Lowers (2): TV advertising about Thai national football team (see the shirt banner)

TV Corporate image advertising on alcohol company sponsorship for 2006 World Cup live broadcasting

Musical events Cultural and community events

Left: Sea food festival Right: Community participation in boat race festival (red t-shirt and flag of the supporters were offered by alcohol company)

Left: ‘Singha Light King of Party’ Hip-Hop music events by international and local Rap stars, Right: ‘Singha Soda battle of the year 2006’, a music and dance competition open for all teenagers, 13+ years old (please note that this is soda promotion)

Music festival: also provided an audio CD gift

Mobile advertisement

Promotion at the point of selling By board, notice board and decoration

By personal advertising

Left: advertising on train, Right: ads-on-car

A promotion approach using party girls / beer girls ,or sometimes known as ‘Coyote’ (see logo of beverages on their clothes, Singha light beer’s blue logo in left picture, Barcardi’s red logo in right.

Beer banners in restaurant and entertainment venues

B. Breaching existing regulation In summary, alcohol advertisement is legally regulated in three dimensions; advertising content, advertising time and place, and compulsory warning messages. Prohibited contents include; 1) Drinking pictures and sounds and consumption encouraging 2) Linking to corporate image in unclear manner 3) Promote competition campaign or lucky draw 4) Guiding those exposed people to belief that alcohol consumption leads to sexual

attractiveness, life success and health benefits 5) Dressing and general manner that are inappropriate to traditional culture, particularly

female’s 6) Using celebrities ( sport/music/movie stars) as presenter(s) 7) Using image of labourer as presenter(s) 8) Advertising by animation 9) Linking to social contribution of the corporate (which may persuade those exposed people in

participating those contribution There are three additional regulations for broadcast media, 1) permitted time is between 22.00-05.00 Hr., 2) Permitted advertising content is only on ‘corporate image’, and 3) picture of beverage could be inserted at the end of advertising. For promotion by billboard, alcohol advertising must be at least 500 metres far from educational and religion venues. All type of alcohol promotion, as well as its package, must be attached with warning messages. These messages are about health consequences and ethical issue For example, this TV advertising complies with rule

Regulatory compliance TV advertising: ads content is about how Thais should be proud with their motherland, without referring to alcohol product. This right-lower shows insertion of beverage picture at the end of advertising with warning message below

These are some examples of possibly and notably regulation breaching;

Using celebrity as presenters and neglecting warning message

Left: billboard ads using three former boxing champions (no warning message) Right: billboard ads using world famous tennis players (no warning messages)

Left upper: 1-year contract signing to use Miss Universe 2005 ( Miss Natalie Glebova) as beer presenter Others: TV advertising about Thai greeting by Miss Universe (no warning messages)

Linking to social contribution of the corporate

Giveaway promotion and lucky draw

TV advertising of 200,000 blankets donation project from an alcohol company (Name and logo, as well as green color of brand on donated blankets)

Above: T-shirt giveaway campaign, when buy 4 bottles of beer, and also linking to sexual attractiveness (message: attracts every eye) Right(2): lucky draw campaigns for concert tickets and trip to England

Persuading with positive drinking impacts

Linking to life success and sexual attractiveness (message: ‘good things always happen’)

Linking to high life quality, socialization capacity and friendship Message in left picture: good life with friend Message in right upper: good friend offer only good thing Message in right lower: the pride of friends

Advertising on prohibited time

Placing in prohibited area

Beer advertising just on school fence

Appearance of alcohol brand (name and logo) on TV program in prohibited time

C. Circumventing of regulation One circumventing excuse for alcohol industry is surrogate advertising for name and brand sharing products. These are drinking water, fruit juice and soda.

Surrogate promotion (name and brand sharing)

*Sornphaisarn, B (2006) Why we need total advertising ban for alcoholic beverage? [in Thai], Center for Alcohol Studies.

Brand sharing products: drinking water and beers

These billboards were declared as drinking water advertisements, which need no warning messages, (no bottle seen, but please note the gold colour batch, and posture of presenter ) [a study shows that 99.9% of 12-year old kids think that these banners are for beer*.]