If you recall last season, we were very much awash with Guinness Ads as they were the major sponsors of the premier league for DSTV. Apparently, the last time a Guinness Ad was aired on TV (including Terrestrial and Digital) was in February during the Nations Cup (correct me if I am wrong). It appears they had been banned by the Advertisers Practitioners of Nigeria (APCON) which banned the company for breaching of Article 39 of the advertising code.
Article 39 partly states that, ‘advertisements for alcoholic beverages shall not be aired between 6.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m. on radio and between 6.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. on television.’ Guinness apparently aired an ad on DStv platform on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 16:40 hours West African time during the CAF Nations Cup match between Ghana and Cape Verde and during English Premier League live football matches even after warnings and notifications from the Council.
Their ban have now been lifted after complying with regulatory requirements. This must have resulted in loss in revenues for most ad agencies and media outlets like DSTV. Could it be a contributory factor to why Guinness Revenue was flat the third quarter ending March 2013?? Turnover rose 4% to N88.4billion compared to N85billion in the prior quarter.
