Can advertising for an alcoholic drink feature a person, a dinner, a landscape or, more broadly, a brand universe?<\/p>\n
The answer does not depend solely on whether the image includes a bottle or a glass.<\/p>\n
Article L. 3323-4 of the French Public Health Code<\/a> limits permitted advertising content to specified product characteristics: origin, name, composition, production methods, sale or consumption arrangements, terroir, awards and certain objective characteristics, including taste and smell.<\/p>\n The presence of a person is therefore not prohibited in itself.<\/p>\n In a judgment of 1 July 2015<\/a>, the French Court of Cassation allowed images of people holding a glass of wine where they were portrayed as members of the wine industry and directly connected to the product\u2019s origin and production.<\/p>\n Conversely, imagery carries greater risk where it no longer presents the product but associates it with a separate imaginary world: seduction, social success, performance, celebration or human behaviour insufficiently connected with permitted content. The French Court of Cassation notably condemned advertising based on \u201cmanipulating emotions\u201d in a judgment of 22 May 2008<\/a>.<\/p>\n The entire campaign must therefore be assessed: wording, imagery, people, setting, consumption context and overall impression.<\/p>\nAssessing the content of the message<\/h2>\n