SL-015 Rebel vs. Regulator Pt. 1

Welcome to the Sightlines podcast from Good Beer Hunting. I’m Jonny Garrett.

If you’re a beer drinker in the U.K., you’ve probably heard of the Portman Group: it’s the independent regulator for advertising and marketing in the U.K. alcohol industry. But if that sounds a little dry, you could also refer to it as the “pantomime villain” of the industry. Funded by eight multinational drinks companies, including Heineken and Diageo, it produces an annual code of conduct through wide consultation with the industry and consumers.

The aim of the code is to encourage producers to advertise their products responsibly: guidelines cover everything from safe levels of consumption to not appealing to children and not implying sexual success as a result of drinking. Any member of the public can make a complaint to the Portman Group, and an independent panel will use the code to determine if the ad or product is in breach.

As a self-regulatory body, the Portman Group is supposed to be a better alternative to further legislation from the U.K. government.

However, the Portman Group comes in for a lot of criticism, and not just because it has to act as the sensible one at the bottle share. Good Beer Hunting first wrote about it in December 2017, in an article titled “Are the UK’s Largest Drinks Corporations Regulating the Brands of Their Smaller Competitors?” in relation to a complaint made against Tiny Rebel Brewing Company. Remember that name.

The fact that the regulatory body is funded purely by multinational companies causes a great deal of mistrust and conspiracy among smaller producers and their fans. Despite the fact that the whole industry has a say on the code each year, there are plenty who believe many of its rules are draconian, too. The complaint process also comes under attack—breweries who choose to fight can spend thousands on legal costs, sacrifice staff time and, if they lose, create redesigns off the back of one complaint.

What follows is a candid conversation with the Portman Group’s chief executive John Timothy. We talk about how the process works, as well as how he keeps the judges independent and limits impact judgments can have on small, inexperienced businesses.

Shortly after recording this episode, however, we found out that Tiny Rebel had just gone up against the panel for a second time for the same product, and lost again. To find out more, we spoke to the brewery’s cofounder Bradley Cummings, who explained his great frustration at the process and what he believes is hypocrisy within it. We’ll be releasing that interview in a second episode, out tomorrow.

For now though, let’s hear Timothy’s approach to regulating a fast-growing and creative industry. Listen in.