• NY Times, Wednesday, March 29, 2006 11:30 AM

Beer marketers are drawing criticism from all over these days. Critics are now claiming that the industry's self-imposed advertising code is really nothing more than a public relations ploy designed to give brewers maximum latitude in their ads. "The beer ad code has loopholes that are big enough to drive a team of Clydesdales through," said Laurie Leiber, director for media advocacy at the Marin Institute, an organization that keeps watch over the alcoholic beverage industry. In January, the code was changed by the Beer Institute, an industry trade group, to make it even weaker than it already was, according to Leiber. One loophole, she said, allows for the portrayal of illegal activity in ads as long as it "is a basic element or feature of a parody or spoof and is readily identifiable as such." "They're writing guidelines to allow themselves to do what they've been doing all along," Leiber said. She said the parody stipulation was added in response to complaints about a Bud Light ad showing referees stealing beer and running from the police. The Beer Institute denied that its standards are inadequate. "Our members have maintained high standards of corporate responsibility dating back to the repeal of Prohibition," the president of the Beer Institute, Jeff Becker, said. "We have continually updated our advertising and marketing code in response to societal changes and technological advancements."

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