July 2004
Bacardi at Football Matches? Not in France.
French law permits companies only to advertise alcoholic drinks in the press, on the radio and on billboards. Television advertising of alcoholic drinks is banned whether it is direct, such as a commercial or indirect by merely appearing in a TV program.
Bacardi France SA v Television Francaise 1 SA (TF1) concerned adverts for Bacardi on signs around a football pitch. When the football matches were broadcast the signs could be seen as the cameras rolled over them.
EU Directive 89/552 gives the freedom for television broadcasts to be transmitted and received across the EU and Member States should not impede any retransmissions of broadcasts from other Member States. By removing the signs for Bacardi from the retransmissions Bacardi complained that this right had been breached.
TF1 contended that the signs at the football matches were not television advertisements that fell under the protection of the directive. A television advert should be inserted between programmes, to be kept separate from other parts of the programme and in the case of sports programmes to be only inserted in the intervals.
The ECJ pretty much agreed with TF1 and ruled that the signs around the side of the pitch did not fall into the area covered by the Directive as the only time they could be seen was actually during the programme. Consequently the French law banning such advertisements does not conflict with EU law.
BRIFFA Comment:
This case follows hot on the heels of last year's Europe wide ban on cigarette advertising which hit sport hard in terms of advertising revenue. If the French law against alcohol advertising were to become law across Europe many sports would have to rethink their advertising strategy for example sponsorship of major events such as Carling and football, Martell and horse racing, Heineken and rugby and even Veuve Clicquot for polo let alone all the smaller scale sponsors or advertising hoardings at sports events.