Allied Domecq
Allied Domecq Announces Unilateral Sensible Drinking Message for UK Spirits Portfolio
Mar 17, 2005, 13:10

Drinks group Allied Domecq has today announced that commencing April 2005 it is to progressively introduce a sensible drinking message in addition to alcohol unit labelling to all its spirits and fortified wine brands sold in the UK.

In a unilateral move that reinforces Allied Domecq’s commitment to promoting responsible drinking through a process of education and information, the new labelling goes beyond labelling its products with the total number of units in the bottle.  Under the Group’s ‘Beyond Compliance’ initiative the new labels will also reiterate the Government’s daily-recommended number of units for men and women and state how many units of alcohol are in a standard drink.  They will also carry contact details of the ‘drinkaware’ website from where further information and support can be obtained.

 The new labels will make their first appearance on bottles of Teacher’s^® Scotch whisky, Harvey’s Bristol Cream^® and Malibu^® later this month.  All other Allied Domecq spirits and fortified wines sold in the UK such as Cockburn’s^®, Tia Maria^® and Courvoisier^® will carry the new labels by September 2005.

On making the announcement Philip Bowman CEO of Allied Domecq said, “This latest move reflects our view that alcoholic beverage producers have a common interest with retailers, government, the public health community, teachers and parents to develop and implement effective policies and programmes that promote responsible drinking and prevent alcohol abuse.  We believe that our announcement today represents another step in the process that will, over time, lead to consumers regarding drinking to excess and anti-social behaviour as being as unacceptable as drink-driving is today”.

Always at the forefront of social responsibility thinking and practice, Allied Domecq was the first major spirits company to introduce responsible drinking messages on all of its advertising, promotional and point of sale materials globally.  Allied Domecq also pioneered the use of a panel of external advisors to scrutinise material in all brand advertising around the world against a code of practice created to help to discourage alcohol misuse and consumption by minors.

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Notes to Editors:

1. More information on drinkaware can be found at http://www.drinkaware.co.uk.
2. Malibu, Cockburn’s, Harveys Bristol Cream and Teacher’s are trademarks of Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine Ltd
3. Courvoisier is the registered trademark of Courvoisier S.A.
4. Tia Maria is the registered trademark of Tia Maria Limited
5. Sample images/artwork of the new labels are available upon request

For More information please contact:

1. Stephen Whitehead, Group Director Corporate Affairs, Allied Domecq PLC

Tel: +44 (0)20 7009 3959

Mob: +44 (0)7880 783532

2. Mark Hunt, Jefferson Hunt Communication Consultants

Tel: +44 (0)1453 811960