Media&Marketing Emmet OliverA compromise between the Government, the advertising community and the drinks industry on the controversial issue of alcohol advertising may be on the cards.
In talks over recent weeks, a proposal has emerged to "audience profile" individual programmes and if the audience is too young, alcohol advertising during that programme will be prohibited.
The Institute of Advertising Practitioners of Ireland (IAPI) is believed to have come up with the idea during talks with the Health Promotion Board, a unit of the Department of Health.
The profiling idea is a simple one, but potentially very effective. The audience could be measured by Neilsen in the normal way and if more than a third of the audience is under 18, alcohol advertising during that programme could be prohibited.
Most advertisers adhere to voluntary codes which prohibit alcohol advertising before 7.30 p.m., but the murky area has been programmes later in the evening when the viewers are under 18 and adults.
Talks are continuing between the Department of Health officials, IAPI, TV stations, radio stations, the Association of Advertisers in Ireland and the Drinks Industry Federation.
The Government is still committed to legislating on the issue, but the Department's focus is understandably on the smoking ban right now.
The TV and radio stations, as well as the advertisers, are hopeful the audience profiling proposal might find favour with Government. Advertisers are keen to avoid the more blunt instrument of an outright ban.
The Taoiseach previously suggested that a watershed arrangement with absolutely no alcohol-related advertising before 10 p.m. might be the best approach.
Advertisers were concerned about such a late watershed and some pointed out that this would stop drink advertising during matches and even some current affairs programmes. Further meetings are scheduled between all the groups.
Ryanair in royal row
Low-cost airline Ryanair has once more fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority in Britain.
The airline has been rebuked for using a photograph of Prince Charles without his permission. The airline took out several adverts in the British press last November to coincide with coverage of the prince's private life.
The adverts showed a photograph of Prince Charles with the words "Prince's Secret Revealed" written underneath. Coming from his mouth was: "Pssst... Ryanair's fares are 50 per cent lower than EasyJet's."
Ryanair said it simply used a topical subject that had been given widespread news coverage. The advert was not intended to cause offence to the royal family, it said.
The Advertising Standards Authority, while accepting it was meant to be humorous, said permission from the royal family was needed to use their image in an advert.
Viacom in ad hunt
Viacom has reported a strong response to its initial foray into the Irish market. The company is chasing ad revenue in the Republic for MTV and Nickelodeon and potentially for other channels like Paramount.
Mr Andy Farwell, who heads the Viacom Brand Solutions operation in Ireland, said there was a lot of untapped business available for both stations.
He said while significant business would be taken from TV3 and RTÉ, much of Viacom's revenue would be coming from other media, including radio.
McConnells, the largest Irish- owned advertising agency, has welcomed the arrival of Nickelodeon in particular. In a note this week, the agency said buying airtime during children's programming was an expensive business on RTÉ. It also pointed out that despite endless claims to the contrary, children were watching less television.
"Children are watching less television with the total time spent viewing falling by 9 per cent in 2003 versus the previous year. The bulk of campaigns targeting children are bought pre-6 p.m. and time spent viewing fell by 11 per cent for this segment.
"The growth in digital also means they are watching channels that are not available to Irish advertisers," says Ms Fiona Scott of MCM Communications, McConnell's influential media buying arm.
MCM does not pull any punches regarding RTE's position now. "Children ratings in multichannel homes fell by 20 per cent on Network 2 last year, a clear sign that children are voting with their feet, or in this case, fingers and the programming they want is not being delivered by RTÉ.
The unpredictability of price and levels of inflation are not sustainable. RTÉ are going to have to fix it."
TG4 and rugby hit
TG4 may have a ratings hit on its hands in the shape of Celtic League rugby, agencies report this week.
Its Friday night Celtic League matches appear to be reaching a loyal audience. AFA O'Meara reports that the last big Leinster match it aired live on February 20th attracted 7.6 per cent of viewing adults on the night (103,000 viewers).
This might not seem high, but it is almost half the number of adults who watched the national teams Six Nations clash in Paris against France on February 14th, (221,000 viewers), O'Meara pointed out.
All-Ireland Answer
Amárach Consulting is offering the Republic's first all-Ireland telephone research service called Answer. Every month, 1,200 adults aged 16 and over will be interviewed throughout Ireland.
The service is aimed at companies that want to test out product ideas on both sides of the Border.
"We have already had very positive feedback about the service from businesses and Government agencies needing a regular island-of-Ireland perspective," said Mr Gerard O'Neill, chief executive of Amárach.
eoliver@irish-times.ie
