Ofcom relaxes rules on workplace boozing in ads

The
media regulator Ofcom has relaxed restrictions that had been placed on
advertisements showing people drinking alcohol in the workplace.

The
move forms part of the concessions that Ofcom has handed to alcohol advertisers
to soften the blow of a wide-ranging clampdown on making alcohol appealing to
teenagers and glamorising ‘yob culture’.

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Among
the new rules are a ban on showing scenes such as that featured in the Bacardi
adverts, where, as Ofcom puts it, “spirits are sloshed liberally around a
crowded party room”.

Tim
Suter, Ofcom’s partner for content and standards, said: “The evidence from
research, as well as a broad consensus of public and industry opinion,
indicates that there is a strong case for specific changes to the existing
rules on these particular products.”