N.Z.B.C. Alters Decision On Liquor Advertising

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31769, 28 August 1968, Page 1

N.Z.B.C. Alters Decision On Liquor Advertising

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 27.

The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation has decided not to permit liquor advertising on television at present and that any liquor advertising on sound radio will be in an extremely restricted form.

Commenting on a letter he received today from the chairman of the corporation (Mr C. A. McFarlane), the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr AdamsSchneider) said he was pleased the corporation had reconsidered its recently announced policy to allow liquor advertising.

In his letter Mr McFarlane said that the corporation would not accept material which directly or by implication was designed to promote the general consumption of alcoholic beverages. “Advertisements for alcohol are acceptable only from advertisers purveying direct to the public and must relate to specific points of sale," the jetter said. “The content of such adver-

tisements will be restricted to the name and address of the business concerned, its hours of trading and the services and products it provides.

“References to uses associated with liquor may be made in advertisements for such products as aerated waters, cordials, glasses, etc., and mention of the availability of alcoholic refreshments may be made in advertisements for air lines, shipping lines, race meetings, social functions, etc,” the letter said.

“No advertising of this type may be associated with children's programmes or directed specifically to youth. “Because of the nature of the restrictions it was not expected that there would be much scope for this type of advertising on television—and experience with this and other restricted materials confirms this view,” Mr McFarlane said. “However, since the main weight of the objections towards any form of liquor ad-

vertising was directed towards television, and because there is no alternative television programme, the corporation has decided to defer the acceptance of this type of advertising on television.”