As common sense seemed to gain the upper hand with the relaxation of the Evin Law, we now realize that common sense has its limits. Indeed, the health lobby won the legal battle against the Côtes du Rhône.
Rather than allocating resources to social protection and learning about responsible consumption, the National Association for the Prevention of Alcohol and Addictology - ANPAA - still seems determined to wage a war of prohibition against anything and everything…
Originally a poster « To the taste of life "
In 2014, Côtes du Rhône followed the example of Bordeaux wines by announcing the launch of a new advertising campaign in France. While Bordeaux communicated on the "accessibility" and "diversity" of their wines, InterRhône preferred the image of a balloon - red —. "The ball is synonymous with freedom ; it allows you to extract, to escape from your daily life to take a break "justifies the Rhone interprofession.
This drawn visual represents a man, certainly coming out of a long day at work since he is in a suit, briefcase in hand. Yet, he has a smile on his lips. Why ? Certainly because he flies over a gray city with a red balloon. The slogan "To the taste of life" accompanies this magnificent drawing., an "engaging and tasteful" signature according to the inter-profession. The "û" of the slogan represents a glass of wine and recalls the red of the balloon.
Thanks to this poster, InterRhône wanted to bet on red again. The objective was to make consumers more comfortable with a wine that they often know quite poorly.. By "letting him talk about his emotions. […] He lives a sensory and personal experience that invites discovery and sharing, this in the context of responsible consumption ", commented InterRhône. It was also a way of communicating on "the state of mind of the Côtes du Rhône winegrowers and merchants who cultivate simplicity, conviviality and a certain taste for life ”.
The beginnings of the prohibition battle
How can advertising dedicated to wine be legal or illegal? ? Evin law, fixed the same frame since 25 years, as if consumption had not changed since 1991. So, advertising must be limited to an "objective and informative" presentation of the product, from the producer or the place of production, taking care not to encourage consumption. The notion of incentive has become the magic wand that the ANPAA has repeatedly issued. The magic of a word as vague as incitement is that it can be pulled out of the hat at any time., like a magician does to make a rabbit appear.
The war declared by ANPAA began as soon as 2014. The prohibitionist association lodged a complaint with the Paris tribunal de grande instance on 19 November 2014. The court then ruled to maintain the visual. However, to calm the tears of ANPAA, the judge of the summary proceedings of the court offered the change of the slogan "To the taste of life". To comply with the order of 7 of January 2015, the new posters were then accompanied by the less incentive slogan : "Colorful wines". And like a kid who wants a red and not a blue Power Ranger, ANPAA then appealed…
For Alain Rigaud, president of ANPAA : "Rise above the grayness of everyday life, after a day of work, by hanging on to a red balloon ... We can see the metaphor : plan, throw yourself into the air ! This visual seems to illustrate the escape provided by drunkenness. ". A perfect message of prohibition refusing to accept responsible consumption.
L’ANPAA, ready to do anything for prohibition
Paris Court of Appeal ruled in favor of prohibition. The advertising that I detailed above is now officially prohibited.
The Côtes du Rhône are fierce incites to vices and lust !
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| Forbidden to enjoy… of life |
Côtes de Rhône union website explains court's wise decision. The latter "orders the deletion of any advertising medium and in particular on any paper medium and online communication medium, the staging of a character in a city costume holding a satchel in his right hand, hanging on a red balloon by the left hand and rising into the sky above a gray town associated with the Côtes du Rhône slogan ".
The judgment of the Court of Appeal
If indeed, as supported by Inter Rhône, the scene is unrealistic and remains in the realm of fiction, this visual suggests, however, that after a hard day's work in a gray atmosphere, it is possible to dream, to escape from everyday life, to take a break like this man with his ball, to rediscover a feeling of gaiety and lightness.
This advertisement which, as the trial judge noted, is in fact a drawing not devoid of artistic quality, does not contain any other indication other than that of "Côtes du Rhône", so that this feeling of gaiety, of freedom, of escape is, for whoever looks at her, directly associated with the consumption of Côtes du Rhône wine, it being observed that a balloon offered as an annex to the paper advertisement is red, with the inscription Côtes du Rhône.
This first visual, which appears in animated form on the site www.rayon-boissons.com, is clearly encouraging by suggesting that the consumption of the alcoholic drink Côtes du Rhône allows you to escape the difficulties of daily life, and it can lead to excessive consumption to reach the stage of bliss suggested by the virtual, which therefore goes beyond what is necessary for the promotion of the product and inherent in the advertising process itself.
Consequently for this visual, the requirement of Article L.3323-4 of the Public Health Code relating to the objective and informative nature of advertising is not met : this visual is therefore illegal.
However, the second visual of the campaign representing a man repainting his house in red remains authorized, the Court of Appeal considering that it is not « not likely to encourage abusive and excessive alcohol consumption. ". Prohibition has its limits !
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