Drinks industry trade body Portman Group has launched a national press campaign asking consumers to complain about irresponsible Christmas advertising, as the embattled sector anticipates a government crackdown on marketing practices this week.
In the campaign, which will run for two weeks, the Portman Group is seeking to highlight its role as the self-regulatory body to which consumers can make alcohol marketing complaints.
The ads, which will run in the Guardian and the Times, use bold headlines including "Only 17 complaining days left until Christmas", "'Tis the season of goodwill. And possibly, complaints", and "All we want for Christmas are your complaints".
The Portman Group, which counts drinks companies including Diageo, Carlsberg and the Stella Artois parent InBev among its members, is aiming to prove that self-regulation is preferable to a mandatory code on alcohol marketing set out by the government.
"We want to be certain that all producers are meeting the [Portman Group's] code's high standards," said David Poley, the chief executive of the Portman Group.
"Consumers can help us achieve our goal by complaining about any irresponsible marketing that has crept under our radar," Poley added.
Direct mail will also be used to target professions likely to come across irresponsible marketing through their work, such as trading standards and police licensing officers.
The campaign is being launched in a week when it is widely expected the government will announce a crackdown on alcohol marketing practices including shops' price offers and irresponsible happy-hour pricing.
Earlier this year a report by KPMG criticised the industry's social responsibility standards.
However, Poley defended the drinks industry's record, saying: "There is already world-class regulation for drinks producers. Effective self-regulation should be championed by government rather than abolished."
"The government's idea of health warnings on alcohol advertising is also misplaced. Health warnings would be blunt, poor viewing and make people switch off when they appear," he added.
The European parliament is also looking at proposals that could see more prominent health warnings included in drinks marketing, including TV ads.
The Portman Group's code of practice applies to a drink's name and packaging, press releases, websites, sponsorship, sampling, branded merchandise, advertorials and all other promotional material.
However, it does not apply to alcohol advertising, which is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority.
· To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
