Irish Alcohol Industry Opposes Proposed Ban on Sports Sponsorships

“If I sponsor an event with a particular product, am I looking for somebody to buy more of it or young people to buy more of it? I’m actually looking for you to buy my product over my competitor’s product – it’s actually about brand differentiation.”  So explained Kathryn D’Arcy of the Alcohol Beverage Association of Ireland. In the Irish Examiner, she admitted that alcohol misuse is a serious problem in Ireland and needs to be tackled, but argued the proposed ban on alcohol industry sponsorship of sports events would not achieve that goal.