Diageo is going out on a limb with a new product billed as "pure spring water + alcohol" under the Smirnoff label, but with no vodka in it. The company, aware of activist groups and attorneys general
who don't take kindly to marketing products that appeal to minors, is trying to assure state lawyers that its marketing will be governed by "one of the most stringent [codes] in the industry."
Smirnoff Source is a malt-based alcohol beverage designed to taste like vodka with a hint of citrus. It is expected to go national by January and compete against light beers. The packaging and
marketing play up a "natural" image, with TV ads showing trickles of water in sync with music.
Says an assistant for Maine's attorney general, who co-chairs a committee on youth access to
alcohol: "If they are marketing it like spring water, which might be deceptive, we might have a problem with it."
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