Russia: A social partnership agreement was signed in Moscow on July 29 between the Union of Russian Brewers and Russian Communication Agents Association or RCAA, according to The St. Petersburg Times.

The Union of Russian Brewers, which encompasses over 80 % of the country's beer manufacturers and the RCAA, with 100 advertising agencies as members, agreed to "voluntarily accept the obligations to make their marketing more socially responsible." The obligations will include a ban on appealing to audiences below 18 and drawing direct comparisons between beer drinking and social status, physical and mental abilities.

The agreement was signed as an alternative to the government's bill limiting beer advertisement, to be passed in its second reading at the State Duma on Saturday. "Neither brewers, nor advertisement experts were consulted before the new bill was developed. As a result, we may get yet another law that is impossible to apply," said Baltika's marketing director Andrei Rukavishnikov. Among other things, the bill prohibits the use of human and animal images in beer advertisement.

The Union of Russian Brewers includes over 100 brewers. In late 2001, Sun Interbrew, Indian-Belgian-owned second largest brewery in Russia, was expelled from the Union for its aggressive television commercials of the Klinskoye beer brand.

Beer companies account for roughly 10 percent of Russia's booming television advertising market, which is set to top $1.3 billion this year, 30 percent more than in 2003.

31 July, 2004