Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule allows manufacturers of
intoxicating liquor to offer consumer rebate coupons and clarifies the
advertising regulation as it applies to the advertising of sales price below
cost.
(1) No person engaged
in business as a producer, manufacturer, brewer, bottler, importer, wholesaler,
or retailer of intoxicating liquor, directly or indirectly, may publish or
disseminate or cause to be published or disseminated any advertisement of
intoxicating liquor , unless the advertisement is in conformity with the
regulations.
(A) These provisions do not apply
to the publisher of any newspaper, magazine, or similar publication, unless the
publisher is engaged in business as a producer, manufacturer, brewer, bottler,
importer, wholesaler, or retailer of intoxicating liquor, directly or
indirectly.
(2) The term
advertisement includes any dissemination of information by print, audio or
video means, whether through the media or otherwise, including but not limited
to, radio, television, motion pictures, newspapers, Internet, email, tex-ting,
website, mobile applications, magazines or similar publications or other
printed or graphic matter, or any electronic means, except that the term shall
not include:
(A) Any label affixed to any
container of intoxicating liquor or any individual covering, carton, or other
wrapper of a container; and
(B) Any
editorial in any periodical or publication or newspaper for the preparation or
publication of which no money or other valuable consideration is paid or
promised, directly or indirectly, by any person subject to these
regulations.
(3)
Mandatory statements include:
(A) The name
and address of the producer, manufacturer, bottler, brewer, importer,
wholesaler, or retailer responsible for its publication;
(B) A conspicuous statement of the class and
type or other designation of the product, corresponding with the complete
designation which appears on the brand label of the product;
(C) The alcoholic content stated in the
manner and form in which it appears on the labels of intoxicating liquor
advertised;
(D) In the case of
distilled spirits (other than cordials, liqueurs and specialties) produced by
blending or rectification, if neutral spirits have been used in the production
of distilled spirits, the percentage of neutral spirits so used and the name of
the commodity from which the neutral spirits have been distilled in
substantially the manner and form in which these statements appear on the
labels of the distilled spirits advertised. In the case of neutral spirits or
of gin produced by a process of continuous distillation, the name of the
commodity from which the neutral spirits or gin have been distilled
substantially in the manner and form in which this statement appears on the
labels of the distilled spirits advertised;
(E) Where an advertisement does not mention a
specific product but merely refers to a class of intoxicating liquor (such as
whiskey or beer) and the advertiser markets more than one (1) brand of
intoxicating liquor of that class, or where the advertisement refers to several
classes of intoxicating liquor (such as whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, liqueur,
wine, beer, etc.) marketed under a single brand, the only mandatory information
prescribed by section (1) applicable to advertisement would be the name and
address of the responsible advertiser; and
(F) Advertisements by retail establishments
which merely refer to the availability of intoxicating liquor in these
establishments, but which otherwise make no reference to a specific brand of
intoxicating liquor are subject only to the prohibited statements provisions of
section (5) of this rule.
(4) Statements required by these regulations
to be stated in any written, printed, or graphic advertisement should appear in
lettering or type of a size, kind, and color sufficient to render them both
conspicuous and readily legible. In particular-
(A) Required information shall be stated
against a contrasting background and in type or lettering which is at least the
equivalent of eight (8)-point type;
(B) Mandated information should be so stated
as to appear to be a part of the advertisement and not be separated in any
manner from the remainder of the advertisement;
(C) Where an advertisement relates to more
than one (1) product, the necessary information is to appear in a manner as to
clearly indicate the particular products to which it is applicable;
and
(D) No mandated information may
be buried or concealed in unrequired descriptive matter or decorative
designs.
(5) No
advertisements of intoxicating liquor may contain:
(A) Any statement that is false or misleading
in any material particular;
(B) Any
statement that is disparaging of a competitor's products;
(C) Any statement, design, device or
representation which is obscene, indecent, in poor taste or conveys a
derogatory connotation;
(D) Any
statement design, device or representation of or relating to analyses,
standards, or tests, irrespective of falsity, which is likely to mislead the
consumer;
(E) Any statement,
design, device or representation of or relating to any guarantee, irrespective
of falsity, which is likely to mislead the consumer. Nothing in this subsection
prevents the use of any enforceable guarantee in substantially the following
form: " We will refund the purchase price to the purchaser if s/he is in any
manner dissatisfied with the contents of this package";
(F) Any statement that the product is
produced, blended, brewed, made, bottled, packaged, sold under or in accordance
with any authorization, law or regulation of any municipality, county, state,
federal or foreign government unless the statement is necessary or specifically
authorized by the laws or regulations of the government; and, if a
municipality, county, state, or federal permit number is stated, the permit
number shall not be accompanied by an additional statement relating to
it;
(G) Any statement offering any
coupon, premium, prize, rebate, sales price below cost or discount as an
inducement to purchase intoxicating liquor except, manufacturers of
intoxicating liquor other than beer or wine shall be permitted to offer and
advertise consumer cash rebate coupons and all manufacturers of intoxicating
liquor may offer and advertise coupons for nonalcoholic merchandise in
accordance with section
311355., RSMo;
(H) Any statement offering free delivery or
credit terms to consumers, as an inducement to purchase intoxicating liquor;
and
(I) A price that is below the
retailer's actual cost.
(6) No advertisement may contain any
statement concerning a brand or lot of intoxicating liquor that is inconsistent
with any statement on the labeling.
(7) No advertisement may contain any
statement, design, or device representing that the use of any intoxicating
liquor has curative or therapeutic effects or tending to create an impression
that it has curative or therapeutic effects.
(8) No advertisement may contain any
statement, design, device, or pictorial representation of or relating to, or
capable of being construed as relating to the armed forces of the United States
or of the American flag, any state flag, or of any emblem, seal, insignia, or
decoration associated with any such flag or the armed forces of the United
States; nor may any advertisement containing any statement device, design or
pictorial representation of or concerning any flag, seal, coat of arms, crest,
or other insignia, likely to falsely lead the consumer to believe that the
product has been endorsed, made or used by or produced for or under the
supervision of or in accordance with the specifications of the government,
organization, family or individual with whom the flag, seal, coat of arms,
crest, or insignia is associated.
(9) No advertisement for distilled spirits
may contain:
(A) The words bond, bottled in
bond, aged in bond, or phrases containing these or synonymous terms, unless
these words or phrases appear upon the labels of the distilled spirits
advertised and are stated in the advertisement in the manner and form in which
they appear upon the label;
(B) Any
statement, design, or device, directly or by implication concerning age or
maturity of any brand or lot of distilled spirits unless a statement of age
appears on the labels of the advertised product. When any statement, design, or
device concerning age or maturity is contained in any advertisement, it shall
include (in direct conjunction with the advertisement and with substantially
equal conspic-uousness) all parts of the statement concerning age and
percentages, if any, which appear on the label. However, an advertisement for
any whiskey or brandy, which does not bear a statement of age on the label or
an advertisement for rum which is four (4) years or more old, may contain
general inconspicuous age, maturity or other similar representations, for
example aged in wood, mellowed in fine oak cask; and
(C) A representation that intoxicating liquor
was manufactured in or imported from a place or country other than of its
actual origin or was produced or processed by one who was not in fact the
actual producer or processor.
(10) No Advertisement for wine may contain-
(A) Any statement of bonded winecellar or
bonded winery numbers unless stated in direct conjunction with the name and
address of the person operating the winery or storeroom. Statement of bonded
wineceller and bonded winery numbers may be made in the following form: "Bonded
Winecellar No...," "Bonded Winery No ....," "B.W.C. No ....," or "B.W. No
....," No additional reference to numbers shall be made, or any use be made of
a statement that may convey the impression that the wine has been made or
matured under United States government or any state government supervision or
in accordance with United States government or any state government
specifications or standards; and
(B) Any statement, design, device, or
representation which relates to alcoholic content or which tends to create the
impression that a wine is unfortified or has been fortified or has intoxicating
qualities or contains distilled spirits except for a reference to distilled
spirits in a statement of composition where the statement is required by these
regulations to appear as a part of the designation of the product.
(11) No statement of age or
representation relative to age (including words or devices in any brand name or
mark) may be made, except that-
(A) In the
case of vintage wine, the year of vintage may be stated if it appears on the
label; and
(B) Truthful references
of a general and informative nature relating to methods of production involving
storage or aging, for example "This wine has been mellowed in oak casks,"
"Stored in small barrels" or "Matured at regulated temperatures in our
cellars," may be made.
(12) The statement of any bottling date is
not deemed to be a representation relative to age, if the statement appears
without undue emphasis in the following form: "bottled in ....," (inserting the
year in which the wine was bottled).
(13) No date, except as provided in this
section and section (12) of this rule with respect to statement of vintage year
and bottling date, may be stated unless, in addition to the year and date, and
in direct conjunction with the year and date, in the same size and kind of
printing an explanation of the significance of the date is stated. If any date
refers to the date of establishment of any business, this date is to be stated
without undue emphasis and in direct conjunction with the name of the person to
whom it refers.
(14) No
advertisement may represent that the wine was manufactured in, or imported
from, a place or country other than that of the actual origin or produced or
processed by one who was not in fact the actual producer or
processor.
(15) No retail licensee
may advertise for sale any brand of intoxicating liquor unless s/he has the
particular brand and size of container or package of intoxicating liquor in
his/her licensed premises for sale.
(16) No wholesale licensee may allow any sign
owned by him/her or advertising his/her product to be placed or allowed to
remain on or upon any building unless the building has an occupant holding a
license issued by the supervisor.
(17) No wholesale or retail licensee may use
any loudspeaker or public address system to advertise intoxicating
liquor.
(18) No producer,
manufacturer, brewer, bottler, importer, or wholesaler of intoxicating liquor
may advertise the retail price or suggested retail price of intoxicating
liquor.
*Original authority: 311.660, RSMo 1939, amended
1989.
