If you're making a social post, a radio spot or a store poster for a beer, wine, spirit or canned cocktail, you need to know which alcohol advertising rules Canada actually enforces. Put simply, broadcast ads must follow the CRTC's Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages, and each province adds its own rules on top. In Ontario those are the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) guidelines, which cover more than TV and radio. Below: what each prohibits, a checklist, and what the research shows.
Alcohol advertising rules Canada: the two layers
- Federal (broadcast): the CRTC Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages covers commercials on Canadian television and radio. The version the CRTC publishes is dated 1 August 1996. It has 17 lettered prohibitions, (a) to (q), plus a separate set of interpretation notes.
- Provincial (everything else, and broadcast too): provincial liquor regulators set their own advertising standards for the manufacturers and retailers they license. In Ontario, the AGCO's Registrar's Guidelines for Advertising and Promotion say that no one may advertise or promote liquor unless the advertising follows the Registrar's guidelines. Ads that go beyond the permitted scope can lead to an order of cessation from the Registrar.
Both layers can apply to the same campaign, so the safe approach is to build creative that passes the stricter rule on every point. BC and Alberta have their own regulators, so read their rules directly.
What the CRTC alcohol code prohibits
Under the Code, broadcast commercials for alcoholic beverages must not do any of the following. The list below paraphrases the Code's lettered clauses:
- Recruit non-drinkers (a): no attempt to persuade non-drinkers of any age to drink or buy alcohol. The interpretation notes add that ads shouldn't "challenge or dare" people to try a drink.
- Target or show minors (b, c): no messages aimed at people under the legal drinking age, no youth symbols, and no actors who could reasonably be mistaken for minors. The interpretation notes rule out children's toys, playground equipment, wading pools, and characters such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Hallowe'en figures.
- Use role models for minors (d): no endorsements by people who are, or are likely to be, role models for minors. The notes say a person stays a role model for 10 years after retiring from the activity that made them one.
- Promise status, success or escape (e, f, g): drinking can't be presented as a status symbol, an escape from problems, a route to social or athletic success, or essential to enjoying an event.
- Show excess (h, i, j): no immoderate consumption, no exaggerating the product, and no suggestion of misuse, dependency or "urgency of need".
- Command people to buy (k): no imperative language urging people to buy or drink.
- Mix alcohol with skill or danger (l, m): the product can't be linked to driving or to any activity needing skill, care or alertness. Consumption may be implied only after that activity has clearly finished for the day.
- Sell on strength (n): no inducement to prefer a drink because it has more alcohol.
- Show effects or drinking (o, p, q): no reference to the feeling or effect of alcohol, no one who appears intoxicated, no drinking where it's prohibited, and no scenes in which the product is consumed or appears to have been consumed.
The last clause catches many people out. Can alcohol ads show someone drinking? On Canadian broadcast, clause (q) says no: no scenes in which the product is consumed, and nothing that suggests "visually or in sound" that it is being or has been consumed. You can show the can, the setting and the people, but not the sip.
What Ontario's AGCO guidelines add
The AGCO guidelines for liquor sales licensees and manufacturers apply to advertising in general, not just broadcast. Several points matter in day-to-day marketing:
- No health claims: ads may not make direct or implied claims of "healthful, nutritive, curative, dietetic, stimulative or sedative benefits". Factual attributes that recognised authorities accept may be stated, provided they relate to the particular brand or type of liquor.
- Brand, not drinking in general: an ad may promote a brand or type of liquor, but not "the merits of consumption".
- Placement near schools: stationary outdoor advertising should not be placed within 200 metres of a primary or secondary school, and media aimed at people under the legal drinking age are off-limits.
- Celebrities: a well-known personality who could appeal to minors can't endorse liquor. This can include historical, political, religious and cultural figures as well as celebrities and sports figures.
- Legal settings only: drinking may not be shown or implied in places where it would be illegal in Ontario, such as public beaches and parks. A product "beauty shot" with no people and no sign of consumption is allowed.
- Agencies count: manufacturers are responsible for authorised ads made on their behalf.
A practical pre-publish checklist
- Is every person in the ad clearly of legal drinking age, and does nothing in it (music, characters, slang, platform) skew young?
- Does the ad avoid any implied benefit, such as confidence, romance, a better party, success, relaxation or a health effect?
- Is the call to action informational ("available at…") rather than a command to drink?
- For broadcast, is there no on-screen or audible drinking at all?
- Are there no cars in motion, sports in progress or work scenes near the product?
- Is any contest limited to people of legal drinking age? For broadcast, does it also offer a no-purchase way to enter, stated clearly?
- Does every product claim describe the product itself (ingredients, flavour, format) rather than what it does to the drinker?
At Aura we hold our own marketing to this standard. When we describe our vodka water cocktails, we stick to what's in the can: premium distilled vodka, alkaline water and natural flavour, with no carbonation, no added sugar and no preservatives. We don't make claims about what the drink does for you. You can read more about that approach on our why Aura page.
What alcohol marketing research actually shows
Much of the alcohol marketing research behind these rules looks at young people. Two systematic reviews of long-term studies that followed the same participants over time are the most cited:
- Anderson and colleagues (2009) found 13 longitudinal studies that followed more than 38,000 young people, with follow-up ranging from 8 to 96 months. Twelve of the 13 concluded that exposure to alcohol advertising and media was associated with later drinking, both starting to drink and heavier drinking among existing drinkers. The thirteenth, on outdoor advertising near schools, found no effect on alcohol use, though it did find an effect on intentions to drink.
- Jernigan and colleagues (2017) reviewed 12 newer studies covering 35,219 participants in Europe, Asia and North America. All 12 found a positive association between marketing exposure and youth drinking. For starting to drink, the odds ratios ranged from 1.00 (no difference) to 1.69. For later binge or hazardous drinking, they ranged from 1.38 to 2.15.
Caveats: what the research does not show
- Association isn't proof of cause. Both reviews pooled observational studies. Anderson's team noted variation in the strength of association and in how well confounders were controlled. Young people who are already inclined to drink may also pay more attention to alcohol ads.
- Exposure is measured in different ways. The studies measured exposure differently, for example by ad volume, ad recall, brand recognition or owning branded merchandise, which makes them hard to compare directly.
- Evidence on bans is weak. A Cochrane review by Siegfried and colleagues (2014) asked whether restricting or banning advertising reduces drinking. It found only one small randomised trial (80 male students in the Netherlands) and three interrupted time-series studies from Canadian provinces in the 1970s and 1980s. A meta-analysis of two ban studies found a non-significant 1.10% change in beer consumption (95% CI −5.26 to 7.47), a result consistent with an increase, no change or a decrease. The authors rated the evidence "very low" and concluded there is "a lack of robust evidence for or against" advertising restrictions.
- Most of the data is about youth. These reviews tell us little about how ads affect adults who already drink.
Taken together, the evidence is fairly consistent that marketing exposure goes with earlier and heavier drinking among young people. It is much weaker on whether particular regulations change how much people drink.
This article summarises published research and public regulations for general interest. It is not medical or legal advice. Check the current text with the CRTC and your provincial regulator before you publish.
Aura is for adults of legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly and never drink and drive. In Ontario you can order our vodka water cocktails directly for delivery to an Ontario address. In BC and Alberta, find Aura through where to buy, at AGLC-licensed private retailers in Alberta or at BC Liquor Stores and licensed private retailers in BC.
Sources
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages and Interpretation. 1 August 1996. crtc.gc.ca/eng/television/publicit/codesalco.htm
- Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Appendix 2: Registrar's Guidelines for Advertising and Promotion and Guidelines for Liquor Sales Licensees and Manufacturers. Registrar's Interim Standards and Requirements for Liquor. agco.ca
- Anderson P, de Bruijn A, Angus K, Gordon R, Hastings G. Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2009;44(3):229–243. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agn115. PMID 19144976. PubMed
- Jernigan D, Noel J, Landon J, Thornton N, Lobstein T. Alcohol marketing and youth alcohol consumption: a systematic review of longitudinal studies published since 2008. Addiction. 2017;112(Suppl 1):7–20. doi:10.1111/add.13591. PMID 27565582. PubMed
- Siegfried N, Pienaar DC, Ataguba JE, Volmink J, Kredo T, Jere M, Parry CDH. Restricting or banning alcohol advertising to reduce alcohol consumption in adults and adolescents. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014;(11):CD010704. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010704.pub2. Cochrane Library