# Why the dearth of wine/liquor ads on tv? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158 "2009-11-11T06:02:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/1 "2009-11-11T06:02:58Z")
The only liquor ad that shows around here is for Belvedere vodka, usually around holiday time and I really can’t remember seeing any ads for wine recently. What’s the deal? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/2 "2009-11-11T06:42:44Z")
Where’s “here”? Here in the Chicago market I see some annoying ads for some [tequila](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OISy-tNOL1c), [gin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFA3JNPsxUY), [whisky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOydQFJdx1k) and more. Although it seems that [liquor ads on network TV](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/more-liquor-ads-pour-onto-broadcast-tv/) is a fairly recent thing. From the New York Times in February… > [@](#): > > Fifteen months after the flagship local station owned by NBC began running commercials for liquor, the local flagship of CBS is starting to accept them as well. > […] > From 1948 to 1996, no TV station or network, local or national, accepted liquor ads even as other mainstream major media like newspapers, magazines and billboards took such ads from makers and marketers of distilled spirits. They adhered to a voluntary ban on TV advertising administered by an industry trade group called the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. > > The council dropped the voluntary ban in November 1996, five months after a large member, Seagram, ran a commercial for Crown Royal Canadian whiskey on an ABC station in Corpus Christi, Tex. Liquor spots started appearing on local cable systems two years later, followed by national cable channels. On the other hand, I can’t remember seeing a commercial for wine in years. Back in the 80’s we had Orson Wells shilling Paul Masson wine to us and I remember remember a few commercials from the 90s but nothing recently. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/3 "2009-11-11T06:45:10Z")
Here in Oregon, we see ads for wine pretty frequently, liquor ads, slightly less so. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/4 "2009-11-11T06:53:49Z")
Far too late for an edit but I feel compelled to also mention [this commercial for Disaronno](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrvLR0pVQ3A) Amaretto, featuring some woman who apparently can’t afford a second drink. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/5 "2009-11-11T08:23:42Z")
Oops. That’s right. I forgot about the Disaronno and Bailey’s ads. I guess I’m just curious because there are SO many more beer commercials. I just wondered why. St. Louis, by the way. And, only one liquor store advertises at all. “Dirt Cheap.” Cheap, cheap…fun, fun…I guess it just doesn’t add up to me. It seems like there would either be a lot or none. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/6 "2009-11-11T11:32:16Z")
Beer is cheaper than hard liquor and probably has a larger consumer base. Advertising money is directed towards the market. SWAG on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/7 "2009-11-11T13:55:21Z")
For a long time, liquor companies self-restricted themselves from advertising on TV. Keeps the government from regulating their advertising on television, I guess. Down here in Mexico where I don’t have my home-made, whole house television recording and distribution system, I’m forced to watch commercials on the occasions that I watch television. All I can say is, the Johnny Walker commercials are fabulous. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/8 "2009-11-11T16:46:07Z")
Are you watching the right stations? I see ‘upscale’ ads for liquor on channels that cater to women, and/or yuppies. Same as household products commercials are shown on things like Lifetime. I’d never seen commercials for Axe or zit cream until I watched MTV recently. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/9 "2009-11-11T22:45:51Z")
Haven’t you ever seen the Captain Morgan commercials? Horrible rum, funny commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/10 "2009-11-12T03:35:07Z")
Second for the **Baileys** , **Captain** , and **DiSaronno**. Other ones I see are \*\*Arbor Mist \*\*(thought not as much as before), \*\*Bacardi \*\*(Bacardi and Diet for 0 calories!), **Jack Daniels** (with the light up label), \*\*Ketel One \*\*(the guys out drinking with the voice over talking about a time when men were men), \*\*Korbel \*\*(especially around the holidays, with the slogan “Celebrate!”) and \*\*Tanqueray \*\*(the black guy at the classy parties, asking “How do you Tanqueray?”) … and that’s just off the top of my head. There are lots of them out there. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-dearth-of-wine-liquor-ads-on-tv/517158/11 "2009-11-12T04:00:38Z")
We have more ads for assorted types of booze now (PA) than we had ads for smokes in the old days. Not that I’m equating the two except in terms of the amount of dollars they have to buy TV time.