Sugary cola

That’s the spirit! If you wanted a stiff drink, as the UK took the plunge on Brexit this week, you’ll have had to pay more for it. As we report, vodka, gin, whisky and rum have all increased in price across the major mults. Sobering times indeed. And with alcohol consumption declining, The Times reports this week on upmarket restaurants in London serving tea as an alternative to wine (for up to £18 a glass) - served cold to bring out its complexities.

It’s also worth noting that alcoholic drinks brands have been cutting ad spend - but the more interesting finding in our Advertising Report is that ad spend by soft drinks brands has increased, overtaking spend on booze in the process.

There are two ways to read this. It’s either great news, to encourage a more sober Britain. Or further proof that evil fizzy drinks manufacturers are trying to ram yet more carbonated soft drinks down our throats. And at first glance they have a point, certainly when it comes to Coca-Cola (the health lobby’s whipping boy), with ad spend increasing 6.5% to £26.1m.

But hold on a sec! The reason for this is a 150% increase in spend on Zero Sugar coke, while spend on red Coke (previously the most heavily advertised fmcg brand) fell 25%. Here is proof positive that Coca-Cola is putting its money where its mouth is. A clear sign the sugar levy is already working. And still it gets grief.

It’s a similar story with McDonald’s. Even though it’s now the biggest advertiser on the high street, with a ‘whopping’ £85.4m spend, a lot of its messaging is around lower-calorie options (including coffee).

So will the PHE’s plans to set portion control targets have a similarly beneficial effect? Possibly. Possibly not. It can’t do any harm: the more options to minimise our intake the better, whether that’s thinner digestive biscuits, smaller bags of crisps or single-size ready meal portions. And, crucially, the PHE has listened to the industry and set its targets for portion control based on overall calories rather than sugar. Just don’t expect the health lobby to be happy.

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