Case: Finnish Story on Marketing

Sari Aalto-MatturiEHYT Finnish Association for Substance Abuse

Prevention

EHYTThe EHYT was founded in the beginning of 2012 by a merger of three earlier NGOs (Finnish Association for Healthy Lifestyles, Finnish Health Association NGO and the EOPH). The EHYT consists of 98 local and national voluntary organizations that share common goals in substance abuse prevention.

•a voluntary organisation: our work is based on the values and activities of our 98 member organisations and their volunteers all over Finland•an expert organisation: we employ 60 experts of different branches of substance abuse prevention• a coordinating organisation: as the biggest Finnish NGO of its kind, the EHYT coordinates activities of preventive NGOs on the national level•funded mostly by the Finland's Slot Machine Association

Alcohol marketing in FinlandAdvertising strong liquors (ovet 22 %) is illegal in FinlandMilder alcohol products can be promoted with certain restrictions (since 1995)

Prohibited forms of marketing:•targeting minors•combining alcohol use with use of vehicles•emphasizing alcohol use or alcoholic contents as a positive feature•portraying alcohol as increasing performance•portraying alcohol as a means to social or sexual success•portraying alcohol as having medical or therapeutic properties•portraying alcohol as revitalizing, calming, or a means to resolve conflict•going against good advertising practice

Previous attempts lead to nowhere• In 2010 106 out of 200 members of Parliament signed the bill for banning

aspirational advertising of alcohol. Numerous NGO’s backed it up.• Bill dried up in the hands of Minister of Health and Social Services before the

elections in 2011• Majority of the new Parliament - and the new minister - support restrictions. The

leading government party, National Coalition Party, opposes

Surveys• A great majority of Finns (76 %) say that alcohol should not be advertised with

positive imagery but it is ok that an alcohol advertisement includes pricing and product information

• 60 % would ban the advertising entirely in order to protect children and teenagers and only 36 % trust the self-regulation policies of the alcohol industry.

• Only one in six teenagers (age 13-17) think that alcohol advertisements do not appeal to young people.

Public debate

In public debate those opposed to regulation via legislation have been activeTheir strategy has been to muddle up conversation by denying the research results that confirm the effects of advertising on children and teenagers:”The results are controversial” or ”The international results don’t apply in Finland”.

TOTAL BLOCKER campaignThe main goal was to influence the preparation of the government program for 2011 – 2015, and after that to further the implementation of the measures outlined in the program.

Coordinated by Association for Healthy Lifestyles – from 2012 EHYT Finnish association for Substance Abuse Prevention

Other partners:- Finnish Parents' Association- The Consumers' Association of Finland- Finland’s ASH - Action on Smoking and Health- Finnish Youth Cooperation – Allianssi-Cancer Society of Finland

Campaign is funded by Finnish Slot Machine Association

TOTAL BLOCKERTotal Blocker campaign reminds us that despite the law, advertisements for alcohol reach teenagers in many ways: outdoors, at home and in the context of sponsorships and sales promotion. Total Blocker is an imaginary product meant to illustrate that the problems of alcohol marketing cannot, in reality, be resolved by putting buckets over children’s heads. There needs to be legislation to target the issue.

For the campaign, we have produced printed and web material on alcohol marketing, organized events and sent material (including the Total Blocker buckets) to political parties, Members of Parliament and the media. The Total Blocker video has been widely shared in social media.

Current preparationsGovernment program 2011-2015:-Advertising will be limited by banning ways of advertising that target children and teenagers, and such ways that create an image of alcohol as increasing social and sexual success-Currently allowed times for advertising on television (after 9 pm) and radio will be reviewed.

Over the spring, Ministry of Social and Health has been preparing a bill that would limit the advertising-Only advertising that describes product information would be allowed -No marketing in public places, no moving picture, no music, no people -Time slot in television from current 21.00 to 23.00-07.

• The alcohol industry resists fiercly and assures questionable practises can be prevented by self-regulation

• During the comment round for the bill, JC Decaux Finland (company selling ourdoor advertisig space) and Bob Helsinki (advertising agency) have mounted a highly visible campaign against the bill.

• Organisations for substance abuse prevention have responsed with their own campaign.

Would you drink less alcohol, if this ad was banned?

Many decision maker thinks you would. Have your say facebook.com/would you drink less

Would we drink less alcohol, if the aspirational advertising of alcohol were banned?

Yes, according to scientific research, we would.

Check out the reseach: facebook.com/iwoulddrinkless

An Open Letter to those Supporting the Proposed Limitations to Alcohol Marketing By JCDecaux Finland The bill considering the aspirational advertising of alcohol has generated a lot of discussion, which we joined by publishing the “Would You Drink Less?” campaign.Why? Because the facts do not support the proposed bill, the only thing supporting it is ignorance.Advertising is a form of competing commercially. With it, one brand tries to get ahead of another. If advertisement is banned, the only choice left is adjusting the price.And lowering prices always leads to increased overall consumption of alcohol, while the amount of advertising has no effect on the overall consumption.The patterns of consuming alcohol are learned at home and from friends. That is why good results have been gained from campaigns that aim to influence attitudes: for example, the ‘Kännissä olet ääliö’ (‘Drinking makes you act stupid’) campaign by the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry), which aimed to influence the teenagers’ excessive drinking.May we show you what advertising really has to do with the consumption of alcohol?Because there are few resources for education on a large scale, marketing agency BOB Helsinki and JCDecaux Finland Oy hereby offer free help in devising and free marketing space for a campaign, which will be produced in cooperation with Ehyt Ry and/or the National Institute for Health and Welfare.

Leguana Long Drink by Olvi - Launched at the same time with

the comment round in May- Associates to ”Legualize it! –slogan

used to promote legalization of cannabis

- Campaign had been approved by the self-regulation organ of the Finnish Alcohol Industry

- Olvi denied all connections to cannabis (”We dont use illegal drugs”)

- Slogan was quickly replaced by ”Leguana!” in TV but remained in outdoor commercials

“…the ad content seems to violate a recently published international code, called the “Guiding Principles for Responsible Beverage Marketing,” issued by the International Center for Alcohol Policies. Guiding Principle 1 states that alcohol beverage marketing communications should “avoid any association with, or reference to, drugs or the drug culture.” (see www.icap.org) The company’s attempt to deny an intended association with the drug culture needs to be evaluated not in terms of their intent but in terms of the way the advertising content is perceived by young adults. It is highly likely that young adults, particularly those who use cannabis, will perceive this ad as being associated with drug use.”

Thomas F. Babor, Ph.D., MPH, Professor and ChairmanDept of Community Medicine & Health Care/University of Connecticut School of Medicine

EHYT – Finnish Association for Substance Abuse Prevention

- aims to promote- healthy lifestyles, safety and temperance- discussion on alcohol and drug policies

EHYTThe EHYT was founded in the beginning of 2012 by a merger of three earlier NGOs (Finnish Association for Healthy Lifestyles, Finnish Health Association NGO and the EOPH). The EHYT consists of 98 local and national voluntary organizations that share common goals in substance abuse prevention.

•a voluntary organisation: our work is based on the values and activities of our 98 member organisations and their volunteers all over Finland•an expert organisation: we employ 60 experts of different branches of substance abuse prevention• a coordinating organisation: as the biggest Finnish NGO of its kind, the EHYT coordinates activities of preventive NGOs on the national level•funded mostly by the Finland's Slot Machine Association

What Is the EHYT?• a voluntary organisation: our work is based on the values and activities of our 98

member organisations and their volunteers all over Finland• an expert organisation: we employ 60 experts of different branches of substance

abuse prevention• a coordinating organisation: as the biggest Finnish NGO of its kind, the EHYT

coordinates activities of preventive NGOs on the national level• funded mostly by the Finland's Slot Machine Association

The Targets of the EHYT

• target groups: children and young people, young adults and students, adults (incl. traffic safety and preventing substance abuse in working life), retired people

• target substances: alcohol, tobacco, drugs, addictive gaming and gambling