Watching the watchdog

THERE IS finally some hope for pubs and drinks companies facing increased crackdowns on how they promote themselves.

Mark Hunter, chief executive of Carling brewer Coors, has taken up the president's job at advertising industry body the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), vowing to take the fight to regulators by demonstrating "how advertising can be part of the solution".

It is thought that Hunter is the first head of ISBA from an alcoholic drinks company. His appointment gives the drinks trade a chance of meaningful discussions at the highest level.

And the trade needs it. Ministers are working on a code of conduct for pubs, drafts of which have proposed guidelines on all "promotional material" and "all other public communications". Alcohol advertising is also under constant scrutiny from the regulatory powers-that-be.

Hunter knows all too well about the impact that complaints by the public can have - an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) into a Carling TV ad last year created unwelcome noise - although it was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

Alcohol Concern and three members of the public complained that the TV spot, featuring flocks of starlings and the caption 'Belong' suggested drinking could lead to social success, something forbidden in drinks adverts.

The Publican spoke to Hunter to find out his plans.

How did you come to take this position with the ISBA?​

The ISBA includes as members the majority of all advertisers in the broadest sense of advertising as communication, so everything from digital to sponsorship.

Its fundamental remit is to protect the freedom to advertise responsibly, by working directly with the government and Ofcom. It was looking for a new president and wanted someone who was the CEO of a company that had been a significant advertiser and could point to a track record of success. I had been part of the ISBA's executive team prior to heading to Canada (see CV, left).

What do you see your role as being?​

I see my new role opening up conversations with key legislators on alcohol advertising. I will have the opportunity, under the remit of

protecting the freedom to advertise responsibly for all commercial organisations, to make the case for alcohol communication to continue.

The KPMG report that led into the current government review had some good parts but was materially flawed in other parts.

However, Department of Health director of health and wellbeing, Will Cavendish, who is responsible for this in government, is very keen to consult with the industry, including the ISBA, on the specific issues, as opposed to coming up with some kind of blanket set of regulations that disadvantage the majority.

How can advertising help alter negative perceptions of alcohol in mainstream media?​

The alcohol industry - the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) - have generally been making the point that there's a lot of negative noise around alcohol, and that, contrary to the belief of some in the media, the industry respects the fact that it has obligations to act responsibly.

You've got to remember that the vast majority of people use alcohol responsibly. Our big push has to be to target the minority of misuse and to focus very much on education.

There's no evidence, if you go to other countries such as France or Scandinavia, that a ban on advertising, or driving pricing up very high, really affects what are pretty fundamental cultural behaviours. So, the focus in the medium to long term has to be on educating consumers.

Let's also call out bad behaviour for what it is - repugnant, something that should not be tolerated.

Does the proposed code of conduct mean government has lost confidence in the drinks industry policing itself?​

The government wants to define at point of purchase what is, and what is not, acceptable. There has been some nervousness from it over whether some retail organisations are doing things absolutely appropriately or whether there are some that will step onto the wrong side of the line. It wants to make sure that's not an option going forward.

But certainly in conversations I've had with government, I haven't had the sense that it's lost confidence.

What was your reaction to the complaints against the Carling 'Belong' ad?​

A small number of people contacted the ASA and said they had some concerns that the advert broke some of the regulations. It had been pre-cleared by all of the relevant authorities, and the ASA was very clear this was a matter of qualitative assessment. It thought it was a minor infringement, so we worked with the ASA and got to a pretty good place with it.

What level of attention will you pay to the off-trade in your new job?​

There is nothing illegal about supermarkets' advertising of alcohol, and my new role does not directly cover the pricing issue.

That is under review by the government at this point, although it has suggested that it is not in favour of putting price controls in place.

But certainly the review that's under way into retailing standards wants to look at pricing that is focused on multiple purchases.

In my view, that is very appropriate. Let's get that on the table and move from there.