In Inventing Wine: A New History of One of the World's Most Ancient Pleasures, Paul Lakacs describes winemaking as an 8,000 year old art, originally believed to be of divine origin. The ancients could never have imagined how modern winemakers go about their art or how wine is now sold.
Enter the Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ("TTB"). Last week it published an Industry Circular on the use of social media in the advertising of alcohol beverages. The Circular is broadly applicable to the sale of wines, spirits and malt beverages. It applies to all types of advertising, including "new media", such as social media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and the like), video sharing (YouTube), blogs and microblogs (Twitter), mobile applications and links with quick response codes. The TTB's decision to apply existing rules to "new media" is intended to prevent consumer deception, misleading statements and to provide consumers with adequate information respecting the identity and quality of the advertised product.
The rules apply to all "advertising" which includes "any written or verbal statement, illustration or depiction" calculated to induce sales in interstate or foreign commerce. Generally, the rules require a legible, conspicuous identification of the advertiser, the class, type and distinctive designation of the product. The rules also prohibit a host of other practices, including statements which disparage competitors' products, misleading or obscene statements or those relating to claimed health effects. The Industry Circular makes it clear that the rules apply to "fan pages", videos about alcohol beverages posted to video sharing sites by industry members, company blogs, micro blogs (because of character limitations the required language may appear on the microblog profile page), "apps" including those with recipes or which are intended to help locate a particular advertised beverage and links to other websites hosted by industry members.
The rules are complex and exacting. Failure to comply with them can lead to significant fines and penalties. Unlike ancient winemakers, you should consult counsel before embarking on an advertising campaign, whether through social media or otherwise.
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