SEAGRAM’S TAKES ITS ADS TO CABLE

A major U. S. liquor producer said Tuesday it will begin using cable television today to air commercials about drinking and driving that were rejected by the three major commercial TV networks.

Edgar Bronfman, Jr., president of the House of Seagram, said that the networks have refused to accept several commercials proposed by his company because they included references to the equivalency of the alcohol content of beer, wine and distilled spirits such as whiskey and gin.

Seagram’s wants commercials to air that say that the alcohol content is equal in a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine and a 1 1/2-ounce shot of whiskey, gin or rum.

As a result of the networks’ rejection of the equivalency ads, Bronfman said Seagram’s has purchased broadcast time for a “public service message” that includes the equivalency comparison on cable TV outlets, including Cable News Network, Financial News Network, superstation WTBS in Atlanta, USA and Lifetime. He also said that public TV station WNET in New York will broadcast a shorter version.

Bronfman told a news conference that for the last seven months, the company has made repeated and unsuccessful efforts to get its message on the commercial networks to eliminate myths about drinking and driving.

“Time and again the networks have refused the spots we have offered, even though we are prepared to pay for time to run them and would do so without our corporate signature,” he said.

“It is a serious disservice to keep vital and perhaps life-saving information from the viewers,” he said.

Bronfman contended that many people do not pay attention to the amount of beer and wine they consume because they believe that the alcohol content is less than hard liquor.

After being rejected by the networks for several commercials with equivalency comparisons, Seagram’s last month proposed a new ad formulated around a message to alert pregnant women to the dangers of fetal alcohol syndrome.

NBC rejected the proposal, CBS said it would accept the ad if the equivalency part was dropped and ABC had not yet responded.

George F. Schweitzer, spokesman for the CBS Broadcast Group, said that his network has consistently rejected Seagram’s commercials because they are “misleading” about drinking.

Schweitzer said that while the alcohol content of the servings of beer, wine and liquor may be comparable, there is scientific evidence showing different blood absorption rates for the three types of alcohol.

“The equivalency is a problem for us because of the rate of absorption and how one gets intoxicated,” he said.

The equivalency commercials also have been strongly opposed by the nation’s brewers.