Leaving a bad taste
It’s enough to give Don Draper a bad hangover. The Beer Store’s new advertising campaign — warning of a spike in underage drinking if Ontario convenience stores win the right to sell suds — is generating a public backlash of painful proportions.
From tweets to talk shows, Ontarians seem unimpressed with the ad, which could be mistaken for a Saturday Night Live parody of the modern temperance movement. Of course, this is no joke. Clearly, growing public demand for beer and wine sales in corner stores has the Beer Store running scared of losing its multi-billion-dollar grip on the province.
Hopefully, Premier Kathleen Wynne, who needs all the public support she can get, will finally recognize that Ontarians want a choice in where they buy their beer. Her government should shake up the system and allow corner stores to sell beer and wine — under strict controls — despite the fierce opposition of the foreign-owned monopoly that owns the Beer Store.
The ad everyone is talking about shows a paunchy conveniencestore worker or owner watching with approval as a trio of babyfaced teenage boys buy liquor and beer — without being asked for age identification. “Have fun tonight boys,” says the dishevelled representative of Ontario’s convenience-store industry.
The ad’s kicker: “Alcohol in corner stores?” intones a motherly voice of disapproval. “It’s just not right for our kids.”
Thank goodness our teens can rely on the moral protection of Molson Coors Brewing Co., Anheuser-Busch InBev and Sleeman Breweries Ltd. (Sapporo Breweries Ltd.). It appears the Beer Store’s raison d’être — aside from piling up profits for its offshore owners — is saving our children from the menace of corner stores.
Of course, that’s all posturing. In reality, Ontario convenience stores already face severe fines (or even closure) if they sell cigarettes or lottery tickets to minors. Owners have a powerful incentive to follow rules that demand ID for anyone who appears to be under 25. And, a recent study cited by the convenience store association found that when tested on age rules with “mystery shoppers,” chain convenience stores had an 87.3-per-cent pass rate, compared to The Beer Store with 80.7 per cent.
Of course, there’s a study for everything and the Beer Store’s new website, OntarioBeerFacts.ca, has plenty to say about the perils of loosening Ontario alcohol sales. At the same time, Tom Moher, vice-president of operations for Mac’s Convenience Stores, calls that ad campaign a “gross misrepresentation.”
Obviously, there’s a lot at stake for both sides. And the Beer Stores’ ad blitz, however outrageous, makes it clear that the game is on. But in the battle for beer-drinking Ontarians’ hearts and minds, it’s clear which side is winning. If only Premier Wynne would listen.