The Legal Minimum Age and Advertising Restrictions
The minimum legal age to purchase liquor in India ranges from 18 years in some states to 25 years in others. Under Indian law, there are significant restrictions on advertising of alcohol. With effect from 8 September 2008, the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill completely prohibited cigarette and alcohol advertisements in India through television.
Alternative Advertising Channels
Some states allow advertising through billboards and hoardings, subject to numerous restrictions. A further, widely-used mode of liquor promotion in India is surrogate advertising — brand-name promotion through advertising bottled water, juices, soda, and similar products, and through sponsoring sports and other events under the same brand identity.
Regulatory Scrutiny of Surrogate Advertising
There has been considerable controversy over surrogate advertising, given that the major thrust of such advertising is understood to be liquor brand promotion rather than genuine promotion of the ostensible product (water, soda, etc.). Government-controlled broadcast channels have historically taken a cautious approach when broadcasting surrogate advertisements, given the underlying policy concerns.
Practical Implications
- Alcohol brands seeking to build market presence in India must plan advertising strategy around the television broadcast ban, typically relying on billboard/hoarding advertising (where state rules permit) and surrogate advertising through allied products or event sponsorship.
- Surrogate advertising campaigns should be structured carefully, given continuing regulatory sensitivity — campaigns perceived as thinly-veiled liquor promotion risk regulatory pushback even where the ostensible product is not alcohol.
- Packaging and labelling compliance should be reviewed state-by-state, given that advertising and packaging rules for alcohol are not uniformly applied across Indian states.