DISCUS Lifts Curtain on Advertising Complaints

With the release of its first public report on advertising complaints—actually a first for any alcohol industry trade group—the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) has acknowledged that alcohol is no ordinary commodity. DISCUS instituted its Code of Responsible Practices more than 70 years ago, shortly after the repeal of Prohibition. But the March report marks the first time the trade group has made its internal process for reviewing advertising complaints open to the public. The DISCUS Code Review Board—eight DISCUS member representatives elected by the Board of Directors—reviews written complaints concerning advertising for any distilled spirits product as well as advertising for other alcoholic beverages produced by a DISCUS member. The advertiser is informed if the Board determines that an ad violates any provision(s) of the Code of Responsible Practices.

Making DISCUS’ self-regulatory process more transparent is an important and mostly constructive development. Positive peer pressure within the industry does seem to have some power—most complaints led to responsive action by the advertisers. But the report also highlights some weaknesses in the current system. Advertisers do not generally present ads for review by the DISCUS Code Review Board before release. While some advertisers agreed to discontinue print ads deemed inconsistent with the Code, it was impossible for them to recall ads distributed in national magazines. Placement standards in the current Code of Responsible Practices permit ads where as much as 30 percent of the audience is underage—essentially legitimizing the double exposure of youth ages 12–20, who represent just 15 percent of the population. Compliance is voluntary and not all the advertisers bother to respond to the review board. Finally, consumers are not using the complaint system—the vast majority of objections come from alcohol producers complaining about their competitors’ advertising.

Now that DISCUS has created an open process, it’s our job to make sure consumers use it! We created TalkBack to make filing advertising complaints easy.