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The Google Ads policy on Alcohol will change around late November. In addition to currently allowing ads that promote hard alcohol branding, the new policy will allow ads to promote hard alcohol sales. To maintain ads quality and to comply with local laws and regulations, Google Ads will only allow ads that promote hard alcohol sales/branding when they strictly abide by certain advertising restrictions.
The ad and website must meet the following criteria:
- do not target minors
- do not include endorsements from athletes, cartoon characters or any other icons/people appealing to minors
- landing page must have an age gate and include statements about drinking responsibly
- do not imply that drinking alcohol can improve sexual, social or professional standings
- do not imply that drinking alcohol is relaxing or therapeutic
- do not indicate that drinking alcohol in excess is good
- do not show people consuming alcohol while doing anything illegal, violent or dangerous; or being inappropriate in other ways, such as acting in a degrading manner
- do not contain sexual content
Some jurisdictions might enforce any of the following additional regulations:
- require government permits for the advertisement of alcoholic beverages
- Prohibit ads for beverages with a certain level of alcohol content
- Require certain disclaimers in ads for alcoholic beverages
This policy change will affect Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. We made this decision to help more advertisers use Google Ads for the promotion of their products. After the new policy goes into effect, the policy description will be updated.
(Posted on 16 November, 2010)