British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) figures suggest alcohol consumption in 2009 saw the sharpest year-on-year decline since 1948 – a 6% decline in 2009, the fourth annual decline in five years.
It used HM Revenue and Customs data about the amount of alcohol sold by producers and importers into the UK.
Marketers should be cautious over the interpretation of adverts describing goods and services following a court ruling.
A ruling over Asda’s use of words in its advertising could open the floodgates for more litigation, warns intellectual property law firm Kempner & Partners as companies can now sue over the meaning of words following a case brought against Asda by Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe.
![Blades_Logo[Shortlisted]](http://www.steam-uk.com/wp-content/uploads/Blades_LogoShortlisted1-300x144.jpg "Blades_Logo[Shortlisted]")
Steam UK find themselves in esteemed company, being shortlisted for a Blades Award for their John Smith’s Grand National outdoor media campaign.
Last night a number of Steam personnel were accused of murdering a number of pop classics during a karaoke session.
The evening was to help give Emily Sathianathan a proper send off as she heads to Australia, and also to welcome new recruit, Jessica Macintyre. More on those two later.
Jygsaw cider brand, Scrumpy Jack is bolstering its quintessentially English credentials with the launch of its new ‘Scrumpyshire’ campaign. Created by Steam UK, ‘Scrumpyshire’ is a fictional county in the English countryside and represents the idealism of rural England, a retreat for city folk to escape away from hectic urban life.
The hub of the campaign is the ‘Scrumpyshire Gazette’ a website designed in the style of a local newspaper and can be found at www.scrumpyshire.co.uk
The FIFA World Cup has boosted UK sales of beer, wines, spirits and soft drinks over the last month, according to Nielsen figures (20 July).
Alcoholic drinks saw the biggest sales lift in the UK; value sales of beer, wine and spirits rose by 10.6% in the four weeks preceding the World Cup opening game on 12 June, and by 8.6% during the tournament, compared to the same periods of 2009.
Asda has introduced a minimum price on alcohol and declared to the Government it wants to play a leading role in tackling alcohol misuse in the UK.
It introduced its new policy, which sets a floor price of duty plus VAT on over 99% of the alcohol it sells.
The coalition government plans to introduce a law banning below-cost sales of alcohol within the next 18 months as set out in the Bill, published on the 10 Downing Street website.
But reacting to the plan, the British Retail Consortium said below-cost selling is: “Simply not the widespread practice portrayed and defining it is a complex issue. If the government is determined to pursue legislation we would want to ensure it applies sensibly and bears in mind the impact on the vast majority of consumers who buy and drink alcohol responsibly.”
GENERAL NEWS:
Drinkaware aims to tackle booze problem abroad
Drinkaware is teaming up with the youth holiday operator Club 18-30 to promote responsible holiday drinking during the 2010 summer season. In previous years youth holiday brands have come under the spotlight for apparently encouraging excessive drinking and loutish behaviour. Since then Club 18-30 has tried to position itself as offering a more sport and adventure-focused holiday.
GENERAL NEWS:
‘A million more shoppers a week’ help Sainsbury’s profits surge
Sainsbury’s has announced a 17.5% rise in pre-tax profits for the past year, citing improved savings on costs and a million new customers a week over last year.