Bad timing

In Australia, Diageo’s latest commercial has been accused of opportunism rather than being a genuine attempt to promote responsible drinking. Report by Jon Rees

SOMETIMES you have to take the flak no matter how hard you try and that is the position in which Britain’s giant drinks business Diageo finds itself Down Under. 

The company, home to some of the most famous drinks brands in the world including Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Smirnoff, decided to add a little social responsibility to its advertising across the globe, from the UK (pictured above) to the USA but, instead of getting praise for its efforts, it ran into a storm of protest.

The move to promote responsible drinking has also reached Australia; some might say "even Australia" since the country’s image in the UK is of a nation with a commendably free and easy attitude to the "amber nectar".

Indeed, such is the strength of this image that not so long ago the Australian government urged those of its companies which fostered it, if you’ll pardon the pun, to be a little more circumspect in its use.

No longer would Aussie brewers be encouraged to commission great ads like the famous Castlemaine commercial which featured a couple of boys from the outback loading a pick-up truck with crates of lager so that it settles precariously on its axles, before adding "something for the ladies" – two bottles of sweet Sherry.

When the truck collapses, one ruefully turns to his mate and says, "Looks like we’ve overdone it with the Sherry."  Commercials like this arguably did more for the image of Australians abroad than anything else the country produces.

However, at home the authorities’ view of the Australians’ propensity for a drink has always been at odds with the generally positive view that British people, at least, hold.

Now, too, the effects of globalisation are being felt all the way Down Under as companies and brands which are marketed as representing a particular set of values in one country, or even continent, find it hard to change their spots in another.

The movement to curb irresponsible alcohol consumption is becoming increasingly widespread, with the authorities in many countries, including the US and the UK, focusing more and more on the effects of drink on the underage.

Of course, drinks companies have always faced pressure over their products; hardly surprising given the unfortunate role which alcohol plays in so many crimes of violence.

However, it is only very recently that drinks companies have either acquiesced under pressure or else acted before they were forced to and started putting warnings on their advertisements aimed at highlighting the dangers of drinking too much.

Once drinks firms do this in one market, it is very difficult not to do it in others.  The reason is, first, that the media conveys the news so swiftly across borders and oceans that such a move will be spotted virtually instantly in other markets where the company operates. 

It is hard to justify doing something in one market but not in all, especially changing advertising to be more responsible since this would be regarded by most authorities and much of the public in most western markets as a public good.

There is a second, less immediately compelling reason, which is that if a brand represents something in one country it is harder these days, when a single commercial can run across continents, for it to represent something different in another.

Which brings us to Diageo Down Under where its new commercial for Smirnoff Ice aims to help educate consumers about the dangers of excessive consumption, but instead has stirred up a storm.  The television commercial, from J Walter Thompson, shows a man and a woman flirting at a party. 

After taking a drink of the aforementioned brand, he drops his car keys into the woman’s large handbag, before explaining that he does not want to drive home tonight and knows he will never find his keys in her bag. The campaign’s tagline is, "If you do drink, drink intelligently."

So far, so not particularly interesting, but Diageo no doubt felt it had done a solid job, saying that the drink played a "positive part in a healthy lifestyle" while also noting that the ad demonstrated it was possible to have a great night out and also be responsible.

The commercial aired just before a five-day summit on alcohol consumption in general and irresponsible alcohol consumption in particular organised by the government in New South Wales.

This clearly looked like good timing to someone at Diageo, but, frankly, it is fair to say that it just looked opportunistic to those who want to control alcohol consumption more tightly.

Foremost among this group were the Australian Drug Foundation, which said the ad merely gave permission for people to drink to the point of drunkenness without driving; while the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said Diageo was just pushing its product and pushing problems, too.

The Australian National Council on Drugs weighed in by noting that while the ad was a step in the right direction, it had sexual overtones while also implying the man was going to have a lot to drink; both factors which contravene the code on drinks advertising.  That notion of globalisation was present in Diageo’s thinking, too.

At the launch of the campaign, the company showed off American television coverage of its "social responsibility" campaign in the US, where a well-known racing driver, Matt Kenseth, talks about the "Smirnoff Ice Triple Black drink driving campaign" – which is not about drinking vodka when you drive.

All told, it was a bit of a disaster for Diageo, despite managing director John Pollaers’ explanation to The Sydney Morning Herald:  "Of course we want to sell products but we do recognise that we have a role to play, that society is encouraged to consume our brands in a manner that is responsible."

Timing, as they say in comedy, is all and it seems Diageo’s was just a little off. Airing that commercial after the conference on alcohol abuse would have been much smarter; a good while after would have been smarter still.

One thing’s for sure, such issues are going to dog drinks companies, far and wide, for a long time to come.