Packaging goes against ‘spirit’ of marketing rule, CAMH scientist says

Norman Giesbrecht, a CAMH scientist who specializes in alcohol policy, said he also imagines a scenario where a child might mistake the hard soda for regular pop.

“It’s inappropriate and risky marketing,” he said. “I’m just baffled why this product was approved.”

Spokespeople for Pop Shoppe say that their hard soda is not targeted at youth — their nostalgic, retrothemed marketing is actually aimed at people older than 40.

Most of their customers are people with fond memories of going to Pop Shoppe stores as a kid in the ’70s, said Stefan Kergl, vice-president at Bev- erage World Inc., which owns the Pop Shoppe brand.

That nostalgic focus would make the drinks less appealing to young people, said Mathieu GagnonOosterwaal, co-founder of Blue Spike Beverages, which manufactures the alcoholic beverage.

“The best way to make a product unappealing to a younger crowd is to advertise it to their parents,” he said, adding that he has not heard any concerns about the product.

The labelling on the cans makes it “pretty obvious” they contain alcohol, he said. The cans say “hard soda,” “7%” and have “Alcoholic vodka beverage” in small lettering at the bottom. The hard soda also comes in cans, while the regular soda is sold in bottles, Gagnon-Oosterwaal said.

Guidelines from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) say alcohol can’t be packaged or advertised in a way that appeals “either directly or indirectly” to minors. An LCBO spokesperson said the hard soda adheres to these guidelines, as well as to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s labelling requirements and the LCBO’s internal standards.

Giesbrecht, however, said the Pop Shoppe packaging goes against the “spirit” of not marketing to youth.

“The artwork to me seems very youthful-oriented,” said Giesbrecht, who believes alcohol packaging should include warning labels. “I think it’s a mixed message, frankly.” In an email, an AGCO spokesperson said alcohol packaging and advertising doesn’t need to get prior approval from the commission.

“However, if the AGCO were to receive a complaint from a member of the public . . . AGCO would investigate,” he said, adding that they have received no complaints about Pop Shoppe beverages.

These kinds of sweet, pre-mixed drinks are sometimes called “alcopops,” said Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol. These innocuous-seeming drinks are particularly enticing to adolescents and women, she said.

“It’s an entry drink,” she said. “It looks like pop. It doesn’t act like pop.”

With so much focus on regulating tobacco and legalizing marijuana, Wettlaufer said provincial governments should also look at strengthening alcohol guidelines.

Ottawa has banned menthol cigarettes, which they say could appeal to young people, and is trying to implement plain packaging on tobacco products.

With alcohol, however, the trend seems to be toward increased marketing and accessibility, Giesbrecht said, noting that beer and wine are now available in Ontario grocery stores.