Dennis RomeroAlcohol advertising has been banished from city owned and controlled property. Sort of.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously yesterday to prohibit such ads, making L.A. “the largest city in the U.S. to disallow alcohol advertising on public property,” Jorge Castillo of the group Alcohol Justice told us.
However, only one company currently facilitates beer, wine and liquor marketing on city property—namely on bus shelters—and it has a contract that's valid through 2021.
The council's vote means that the contract will be honored but that any new deals would exclude spirit, wine and brewery ads. There are exceptions.
In fact, as is typical with many of the things the City Council does, there are loopholes you could drive a semi through.
LAX, parks, the Convention Center, and the port are exempted from the ban. Castillo said his group would work on getting bans at those locations on a case-by-case basis, though.
Billboards, walls and vehicles are included in the ban. So are school buildings, libraries and bus shelters.
Credit: torbakhopper HE DEAD/Flickr
City bus benches (not shelters), buses and other transit vehicles were already part of a previous alcohol ad ban.
Alcohol Justice, which lobbied for 3 and a half years for the ordinance, was pleased with the 12-0 council vote to nix such ads.
The group argues that “banning them from all public property to play a positive role in reducing exposure to alcohol ads to protect youth and reduce alcohol-related harm to all residents and visitors of the city,” according to a statement.
“We're happy,” Castillo said. “It's sending a message to the advertising companies that the city is choosing a healthier community for young people.”
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