Rules · Spirits · CRTC and AGCO
Selling spirits without selling the buzz
Flavour, place and story are open. Strength, excess and success are not.
The rule
Alcohol advertising in Canada runs on two sets of rules that point the same way. The CRTC’s Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages governs broadcast ads, and Ontario’s AGCO applies its own advertising standards to liquor advertising in the province.
Both draw the same lines. Ads must not appeal to people under the legal drinking age. They must not suggest that drinking brings social, sexual or business success. And they must not sell a brand on how strong it is.
That rules out a lot of what spirits marketing reaches for by habit: the party that only starts when the bottle opens, the confident hero with a glass in hand, the proof printed large as a reason to buy.
What stays open is wide: where the rum comes from, what it tastes like, how it is made, what to mix it with and the story behind the name. Heritage and flavour sell, and they sell inside the rules.
Labels are a separate layer again, with CFIA labelling rules and LCBO listing requirements. Check the label as carefully as the ad.
A plain-language read, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the source or ask us before you publish.