Molson Coors says government confusion led it to drop Carling sponsorship of Celtic and Rangers

Published on Saturday 6 February 2010 15:44

MOLSON Coors, the brewing giant behind Carling lager, has attacked the Scottish government over lack of clarity in current legislation on alcohol.

• Carling have dropped their sponsorship of the Old Firm

Paul Miller, director of sales for Molson Coors Scotland, said Scottish legislation was "difficult to understand" and interpret.

Following changes to the rules of how alcohol is marketed in shops and pubs, the uncertain regulatory environment prompted the world's fifth largest beer company not to renew its seven-year sponsorship of Celtic and Rangers football clubs.

Although the Scottish Government has not banned alcohol logos on sports kits, the company will remove its logo from Old Firm shirts after already agreeing to drop it from children's shirts in August. Miller said the move was a reaction to Holyrood's views on sponsorship.

Miller said: "We were recognising the government's perspective and views on alcohol and sponsoring on shirts," said Miller. "The Old Firm sponsorship has been great for us and getting awareness for Carling but we recognise their view."

Serving to highlight different firms' take on the issues surrounding alcohol, last week, Tennent's, the lager brand owned by Irish brewer C&C, signed a deal to take up the Old Firm sponsorship.

Miller said Molson Coors had hired a staff to deal with changes in alcohol promotion in supermarkets – known as the "off trade" – but that the group struggled with the impact of promotion of alcohol in "on trade" pubs. "In the on-trade, the biggest challenges have been how to interpret the legislation," said Miller.

"If a promotion offers someone a free pint of beer, is that encouraging someone to consume more than they would otherwise consume? I guess the answer would be yes. But curiously, to the letter of the legislation, it doesn't. That is the difficulty, to understand what can and can't be done. The important thing for us is we don't contravene the spirit of the legislation.

"Recent changes in legislation makes Scotland very different from England and Wales in terms of what you can and can't do from a promotional point of view.

"Quite often promotional activity in England and Wales has to be adapted quite significantly to be run in Scotland. It is important we ensure what we are doing is responsible."

Miller also confirmed its support of the Scottish government's policy on minimum pricing after recent reports suggested it was against the proposed government policy.

At the end of last month, bosses at Molson Coors were furious when the BBC reported Carling was against the measures after C&C announced its support of minimum pricing. In June last year, Molson Coors became the first UK brewer to say it was in favour of minimum pricing. Through its Molson division, the firm is one of the largest brewers in Canada, where minimum pricing is also in force.

Miller said he was in support, although he hadn't "seen a specific, clear proposal" for minimum pricing.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said its policies on minimum pricing and the promotion of alcohol were "not mutually exclusive" and its legislation was "not anti-alcohol".

"If that (minimum pricing] creates an element of uncertainty, I don't think that can really be avoided, in that it is pioneering and until it is implemented, the full effects cannot be known. The research we have indicates it will have positive impacts on public heath," he said.

The end of the sponsorship threatened the Old Firm with the loss of an estimated 2.2 million in revenues, an added blow after the Scottish Premier League agreed to a reduced TV deal with broadcasters Sky and ESPN.

Miller said Carling was "moving to a different stage" and would "look at other areas of football", adding that details would be announced in the next few weeks.

Tennent's owner C&C said it was confident its approach to sponsorship was in line with government objectives. A spokeswoman said: "To date we have worked in close consultation with the Scottish Government with regard to our sponsorship activity, and we will continue to do so."