New York TV Station Takes Chance on Liquor Ads

NEW YORK TV STATION TAKES CHANCE ON LIQUOR ADS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
Almost six years after NBC ended an experiment to bring the first liquor commercials onto national broadcast network television, the flagship station it owns, WNBC-TV in New York, has started running such spots. The decision is a small but significant sign of changing attitudes toward advertising of products that many consider contentious. From 1948 until 1996, no TV station or network accepted liquor ads although distilled spirits were advertised in newspapers, magazines and billboards. Today, hundreds of television stations and networks carry commercials for distilled spirits. But the four biggest broadcast networks, including NBC, do not. They remain skittish about critics who contend that opening television — still the most powerful advertising medium — to the marketers of distilled spirits will more readily expose those pitches to children and teenagers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/business/media/30adco.html?ref=todaysp...
(requires registration)