11 CSR 70-2.240 - [Effective 3/31/2025] Advertising of Intoxicating Liquor
(1) No person
engaged in business as a producer, manufacturer, brewer, bottler, importer,
wholesaler, or retailer of intoxicating liquor, directly or indirectly, may
publish or disseminate or cause to be published or disseminated any
advertisement of intoxicating liquor unless the advertisement is in conformity
with this regulation.
(2) The term
advertisement includes any dissemination of information by print, audio or
video means, whether through the media or otherwise, including but not limited
to, radio, television, motion pictures, newspapers, Internet, email, texting,
website, mobile applications, magazines or similar publications or other
printed or graphic matter, or any electronic means, except that the term shall
not include:
(A) Any label affixed to any
container of intoxicating liquor or any individual covering, carton, or other
wrapper of a container; and
(B) Any
editorial in any periodical or publication or newspaper for the preparation or
publication of which no money or other valuable consideration is paid or
promised, directly or indirectly, by any person subject to these
regulations.
(3)
Mandatory statements include:
(A) The name and
address of the producer, manufacturer, bottler, brewer, importer, wholesaler,
or retailer responsible for its publication;
(B) A conspicuous statement of the class and
type or other designation of the product, corresponding with the complete
designation which appears on the brand label of the product;
(C) The alcoholic content stated in the
manner and form in which it appears on the labels of intoxicating liquor
advertised;
(D) In the case of
distilled spirits (other than cordials, liqueurs and specialties) produced by
blending or rectification, if neutral spirits have been used in the production
of distilled spirits, the percentage of neutral spirits so used and the name of
the commodity from which the neutral spirits have been distilled in
substantially the manner and form in which these statements appear on the
labels of the distilled spirits advertised. In the case of neutral spirits or
of gin produced by a process of continuous distillation, the name of the
commodity from which the neutral spirits or gin have been distilled
substantially in the manner and form in which this statement appears on the
labels of the distilled spirits advertised;
(E) Where an advertisement does not mention a
specific product but merely refers to a class of intoxicating liquor (such as
whiskey or beer) and the advertiser markets more than one (1) brand of
intoxicating liquor of that class, or where the advertisement refers to several
classes of intoxicating liquor (such as whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, liqueur,
wine, beer, etc.) marketed under a single brand, the only mandatory information
prescribed by section (1) applicable to advertisement would be the name and
address of the responsible advertiser; and
(F) Advertisements by retail establishments
which merely refer to the availability of intoxicating liquor in these
establishments, but which otherwise make no reference to a specific brand of
intoxicating liquor are subject only to the prohibited statements provisions of
section (5) of this rule.
(4) Statements required by these regulations
to be stated in any written, printed, or graphic advertisement should appear in
lettering or type of a size, kind, and color sufficient to render them both
conspicuous and readily legible. In particular-
(A) Required information shall be stated
against a contrasting background and in type or lettering which is at least the
equivalent of eight- (8-) point type;
(B) Mandated information should be so stated
as to appear to be a part of the advertisement and not be separated in any
manner from the remainder of the advertisement;
(C) Where an advertisement relates to more
than one (1) product, the necessary information is to appear in a manner as to
clearly indicate the particular products to which it is applicable;
and
(D) No mandated information may
be buried or concealed in unrequired descriptive matter or decorative
designs.
(5) No
advertisements of intoxicating liquor may contain -
(A) Any statement, design, device, or
representation that is false or misleading including any false or misleading
statement that creates an impression about the effects of alcohol consumption
on health, and any false or misleading statement that explicitly or implicitly
disparages a competitor's product. This does not prevent truthful and accurate
comparisons between products or statements of opinion;
(B) Any statement, design, or device
representing that the use of any intoxicating liquor has curative or
therapeutic effects or tending to create an impression that it has curative or
therapeutic effects;
(C) Any
statement, design, device, or representation which is obscene, indecent, or
conveys a derogatory connotation;
(D) Any statement that the product is produced,
blended, brewed, made, bottled, packaged, sold under or in accordance with any
authorization, law, or regulation of any municipality, county, state, federal
or foreign government unless the statement is necessary or specifically
authorized by the laws or regulations of the government and, if a municipality,
county, state, or federal permit number is stated, the permit number shall not
be accompanied by an additional statement relating to it;
(6) No advertisement may contain any
statement concerning a brand or lot of intoxicating liquor that is inconsistent
with any statement on the labeling.
(7) No advertisement may contain any statement,
design, device, or pictorial representation of or relating to, or capable of
being construed as relating to the armed forces of the United States or of the
American flag, any state flag, or of any emblem, seal, insignia, or decoration
associated with any such flag or the armed forces of the United States; nor may
any advertisement containing any statement device, design, or pictorial
representation of or concerning any flag, seal, coat of arms, crest, or other
insignia, likely to falsely lead the consumer to believe that the product has
been endorsed, made or used by, or produced for or under the supervision of or
in accordance with the specifications of the government, organization, family,
or individual with whom the flag, seal, coat of arms, crest, or insignia is
associated.
(8) No advertisement
for distilled spirits may contain-
(A) The
words bond, bottled in bond, aged in bond, or phrases containing these or
synonymous terms unless these words or phrases appear upon the labels of the
distilled spirits advertised and are stated in the advertisement in the manner
and form in which they appear upon the label;
(B) Any statement, design, or device,
directly or by implication concerning age or maturity of any brand or lot of
distilled spirits unless a statement of age appears on the labels of the
advertised product. When any statement, design, or device concerning age or
maturity is contained in any advertisement, it shall include (in direct
conjunction with the advertisement and with substantially equal
conspicuousness) all parts of the statement concerning age and percentages, if
any, which appear on the label. However, an advertisement for any whiskey or
brandy that does not bear a statement of age on the label or an advertisement
for rum which is four (4) years or more old may contain general inconspicuous
age, maturity or other similar representations, for example aged in wood,
mellowed in fine oak cask; and
(9) No advertisement for wine may contain-
(A) Any statement of bonded winecellar or
bonded winery numbers unless stated in direct conjunction with the name and
address of the person operating the winery or storeroom. Statement of bonded
winecellar and bonded winery numbers may be made in the following form: "Bonded
Winecellar No...," "Bonded Winery No...," "B.W.C. No...," or "B.W. No...." No
additional reference to numbers shall be made, or any use be made of a
statement that may convey the impression that the wine has been made or matured
under United States government or any state government supervision or in
accordance with United States government or any state government specifications
or standards; and
(B) Any
statement, design, device, or representation which relates to alcoholic content
or which tends to create the impression that a wine is unfortified or has been
fortified or has intoxicating qualities or contains distilled spirits except
for a reference to distilled spirits in a statement of composition where the
statement is required by these regulations to appear as a part of the
designation of the product.
(10) No statement of age or representation relative to
age (including words or devices in any brand name or mark) may be made, except
that-
(A) In the case of vintage wine, the
year of vintage may be stated if it appears on the label; and
(B) Truthful references of a general and
informative nature relating to methods of production involving storage or
aging, for example "This wine has been mellowed in oak casks," "Stored in small
barrels," or "Matured at regulated temperatures in our cellars," may be
made.
(11) The statement
of any bottling date is not deemed to be a representation relative to age, if
the statement appears without undue emphasis in the following form: "bottled in
.... " (inserting the year in which the wine was bottled).
(12) No date, except as provided in this section and
section (11) of this rule with respect to statement of vintage year and
bottling date, may be stated unless, in addition to the year and date and in
direct conjunction with the year and date, in the same size and kind of
printing an explanation of the significance of the date is stated. If any date
refers to the date of establishment of any business, this date is to be stated
without undue emphasis and in direct conjunction with the name of the person to
whom it refers.
(13) No
advertisement may represent that the wine was manufactured in, or imported
from, a place or country other than that of the actual origin or produced or
processed by one who was not in fact the actual producer or
processor.
(14) No retail licensee
may advertise for sale any brand of intoxicating liquor unless s/he has the
particular brand and size of container or package of intoxicating liquor in
his/her licensed premises for sale.
(15) No wholesale licensee may allow any sign owned by
him/ her or advertising his/her product to be placed or allowed to remain on or
upon any building unless the building has an occupant holding a license issued
by the supervisor.
Notes
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