Alcohol ad ban for sponsors, says minister

Alcohol ad ban for sponsors, says minister

FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS

Sep 29th 2011, 09:09

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s proposed ban on liquor advertising would wipe out all sports sponsorships by alcohol companies if it became law.  

Motsoaledi told Business Day yesterday his main aim was to ensure he blocked all marketing of alcohol in any form that was "enticing" people to use those products.

At present all three national teams of SA’s biggest sporting codes — soccer, rugby and cricket — have sponsorship deals with South African Breweries (SAB).

The Premier Soccer League’s Orlando Pirates would be forced to strip off the alcohol brand displayed on their jersey sleeve too.

"The issue has not been finalised but I’m telling you what I think is going to happen. The issue of sponsorship will not stop us in this march towards better health and towards a society where the reduction of alcohol is definitely mooted," the minister said yesterday.

"We are talking about marketing; advertising and sponsorship — they are all marketing. We think the marketing of liquor (is the problem), whether through advertising, sponsorships; all that is marketing."

Motsoaledi did not believe that removing alcohol sponsorships would cause a revenue vacuum that would be impossible to fill.

"They (sports teams) don’t believe and I don’t believe that clubs won’t get other sponsorships.

"Remember that the same arguments were put forward about cigarettes. Cigarette companies were also sponsoring sports clubs and we stopped that and we don’t think there’s anything wrong in doing the same thing with alcohol."

As for sponsorship deals where the logo does not appear on the team’s strip, Motsoaledi said: "Those will be the nitty-gritties when the act is put up. Remember there (will be) public hearings. Members of the public will have their say.

"All I am saying is that anything that is visible marketing, which will encourage people to get more into that commodity, that’s what we are trying to stop, not any other issue."

Motsoaledi’s call for a ban on alcohol advertising drew support yesterday from Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.

He told Business Day: "Anything which is about supporting a healthy lifestyle and undermining alcohol abuse and all of that, we support it.

"We talked about that (the effect on sponsorship) when we talked about cigarettes and they were not affected. Alcohol really plays a negative role in society and it is well publicised and too accessible to young people. It must be regulated.

"This thing that you get drunk seven days a week, 365 days a year — every South African should be worried about it."

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president Gideon Sam was apprehensive about the health minister’s proposal and pointed to the cigarette advertising ban in his argument.

"We are very sceptical about what is going to happen now. If you take away that kind of support from our federations, how is it going to be replaced? If we can be guaranteed that through Treasury this money will go to (the department of) Sport and Recreation, so that minister Mbalula can use it, then we’ll support it. How on earth are we going to deliver on sport the way we want to deliver without that kind of support?" Sam said.

"When we had an issue like this with tobacco (companies) a couple of years back, we made an appeal to Treasury that whatever we are going to lose through that sponsorship be replaced through Treasury and the sports ministry. It did not happen, that’s the unfortunate thing."

South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani told Business Day there was a need for all people who would be affected by the banning of alcohol advertising to discuss the matter fully.

"Do not forget that people’s behaviour may not necessarily be cut off immediately, you need to have programmes to teach people so they can stand on their own. I know the thinking has always been, ‘Let’s ban advertising’. Yes, advertising can have a certain effect whereby it creates false hope," Nematandani said.

"Before arriving at a decision we must look at everything: what are the impacts, what the positives are and what the negatives are .

"And out of that arrive at what we believe will be able to take this country forward."

SAB sponsorship management could not be reached for comment yesterday.