The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) issued a new edition of the Code of Responsible Practices that includes updated provisions, establishes a new alternative complaint resolution procedure and enhances the overall clarity of the Code. (Click here to view the Code)

First adopted by the spirits industry within months of the repeal of Prohibition, the Code is a set of voluntary guidelines for the responsible placement and content of beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials.

“Throughout the Code’s 90-year history, provisions have been updated over time to reflect the current marketplace, social mores and evolving technology,” Courtney Armour, DISCUS Chief Legal Officer and Code Review Board Liaison, said in a news release. “This latest update and redesign of the Code improves clarity around certain provisions and includes a new alternative rapid complaint resolution process for marketers to demonstrate responsive action and a commitment to the Code.”

Among the updates:

• Code Now Explicitly Covers Non-Alcohol Beverages: While DISCUS members have long advertised their non-alcohol beverage products in compliance with the Code, the Code now includes an explicit reference in its scope to make it clear that advertising or marketing activities for beverage products identified as non-alcohol versions of recognized alcohol categories or established brands is covered by the Code.
• College Stadium Naming Rights Prohibited: The college campus marketing section has been revised to explicitly prohibit purchasing the naming rights to a college sports stadium. Marketing on college campuses has been prohibited in the Code for some time, excluding some very limited exceptions.
•  Introduction of Rapid Action Alternative Complaint Resolution Process: The revised Code includes a new informal inquiry alternative to the formal complaint process that allows for the submittal of concerns regarding advertising and marketing materials where an advertiser would have a 3-business day window to address the alleged violations prior to launching a formal Code Review Board proceeding. This new alternative procedure is meant to address inquiries received where complainants do not want to go through the formal complaint process and provides another avenue to demonstrate rapid responsive action and compliance with the Code. DISCUS will track informal inquiries received and responsive action taken and will annually report on the DISCUS website the number of inquiries received that year, whether the advertiser was a DISCUS Member, and whether the complainant was an industry member, organization, or private citizen.

“The revised Code demonstrates our dedication to responsible advertising and marketing directed at legal age adults and further ensures that the Code can be appropriately understood and utilized by our industry,” DISCUS Code Review Board Chair Mary Barrazotto, SVP, Deputy General Counsel at Brown-Forman, said.

Through the voluntary provisions of the Code, DISCUS members have held themselves to a standard higher than mandated by any law or regulation. Over the decades, there has been 100 percent compliance by DISCUS members with Code Review Board decisions and overwhelming compliance by non-DISCUS members.

The FTC has commended the Code on numerous occasions and cited it as a model. In each of the Commission’s intensive reviews of beverage alcohol advertising, the FTC has confirmed that spirits ads are directed to adults and that self-regulation through the industry Code is working.