On 12 December last year, bar owner Anders Helvik Kristensen shared a post on Facebook inviting him to a Santa party. A few days later, the liquor control came to visit the outhouse in Rosendal in Kvinnherad municipality. They found that everything was in order. Except for one thing. The bar was given one point for having advertised alcohol through the drink emoji on the Facebook post. – At first I thought it was nonsense. Is it meat, I thought, says Kristensen. My emojis are linked to alcohol Because before the inspection earlier in the evening, the inspectors had checked the bar’s Facebook page. There they found the advertisement for the Santa party. “Perhaps Santa will come by with some goodies for the people…?” The case was first reported by the newspaper Kvinnheringen. The liquor inspector believes this is a breach of the ban on alcohol advertising. Furthermore, it is established that the use of emojis that are associated with alcohol, for example beer glasses, wine glasses, champagne bottles and the like, is not allowed when a liquor store publishes this on social media. NISSEGODT: Parts of Bar-On’s post which led to the dot of the pub control. At the bar, write that Santa might stop by with goodies for the people, followed by a drink emoji. Photo: Screenshot Facebook – Might as well be juice In the comments section under the newspaper’s sharing of the case, the liquor control has been reviewed. – It might as well be juice that I serve. There is no reference to alcohol, either brand or type of alcohol. In that sense, I think alcohol-free beer is a clearer form of advertising. – Doesn’t it shine through that you have an alcoholic drink in mind when you use this emoji in such a context? – I understand that you shouldn’t advertise alcohol, but that you can’t use an emoji in a text, no, I don’t understand that. Kristensen has so far chosen not to appeal the decision. He wants to have a good relationship with the liquor control, and believes that other people’s reactions speak better than his own. – This has become a topic of conversation here. People I talk to think it will be too stupid, claims the bar owner in Sunnhordland. BAR OWNER: Anders Helvik Kristensen is the owner of Bar-On in Rosendal in Kvinnherad. Photo: Private Champagne emoji for political treatment Because it is not the first time the liquor control has received criticism for reacting to emoji use in social media. In October last year, the brewery restaurant Big Horn in Tønsberg shared a similar post. A green bottle in a Facebook update was the start of long proceedings with the municipality, a lawyer’s complaint and full political treatment, wrote Tønsbergs Blad last week. Next Tuesday, the politicians in the committee for culture, sport and public health will decide on the matter. In the case documents, according to Tønsbergs Blad, it appears that the municipality has turned the matter around. “The director of the municipality considers that the emoji is mainly included as a party element, without this necessarily signaling the marketing of alcoholic beverages, nor does the emoji in itself give a clear association to alcoholic beverages,” writes the director of the municipality in the case. Earlier in January, news wrote about the brewery Salikatt in Stavanger, which asked customers not to tag them in social media. The reason was that the Directorate of Health believes that an owner of a profile is responsible for all content there, including that posted by third parties. The case has led to an outcry in the brewing industry. HOW THE HELL READ THE BIBLE: – The municipality interprets the alcohol law like the hell interprets the Bible, says parliamentary representative Helge-André Njåstad (Frp) about the emoji dot in Rosendal. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Directorate of Health: Illustrations of alcohol are illegal The Directorate of Health will not comment on the case itself in Kvinnherad. They wrote in an e-mail to news that it is forbidden to display pictures or illustrations of alcohol. – Alcohol-related emojis are illustrations of alcohol and are therefore not permitted, writes Department Director Øyvind Giæver in the Directorate of Health. Furthermore, they write that words and expressions which do not mention alcohol directly, but which many people would still associate with alcohol, are also illegal. – For example ‘fresh drink’, ‘something good in the glass’ or ‘good stuff’, together with a wine emoji”, writes Gievær. – Firkanta Kristensen in Kvinnherad has a vocational certificate as a waiter and has several master’s titles as a bartender. He believes the interpretations have become stricter, and will encourage the politicians in the Storting to go through the regulations. And now Kristensen’s emoji also ends up on Løvebakken. – I think this is bureaucracy of the worst kind. The municipality interprets the alcohol law like the devil interprets the Bible, says parliamentary representative Helge-André Njåstad (Frp), who sent this question to the Minister of Health on Monday. “Does the minister agree that an emoji is an alcohol advertisement?” – Norway is a leading country in many areas, but I think that if it is to be as square as these cases show, it will turn into “insanity”. It lacks a little common sense, believes Kristensen. The bar owner has not yet taken down the post, but says he wants to change the emoji. – I almost forgot to take it away. Maybe I should do that. In any case, it shows that I take this seriously.
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Bar invited to a Santa party on Facebook with a drink emoji – got a tick from the bar inspector – news Vestland
