The Founder of 3Music Network, Baba Sadiq, says the directive from the Food and Drug Authority barring celebrities in alcoholic beverage advertisement is constricting the creative industry.

According to him, the beverage industry was the major sponsor of creative contents prior to the FDA directives.

He added that the regulation is robbing celebrities of potential streams of income and slowing the growth of the entertainment industry.

Mr. Sadiq raised these concerns at Joy FM’s Showbiz Roundtable in Accra.

The third edition of the thought-leadership programme explored the dynamics of sponsorship in the creative space.

“The beverages used to be the biggest sponsors of a lot of creative contents or creative experiences in town, but due to regulation and also their inability to get the full benefit… Today, even if you promised them [beverage companies] media for the experience that you’re creating, they’ll know that they will not get the full extent of it.”

“If it is an alcoholic brand, he knows that it cannot be seen at certain times. So first and foremost, he’s not actually getting the full benefit. So they’ll probably zero down and come down to the experiential benefit that they’ll get,” he said.

The FDA’s directives discourage the use of celebrities in the promotion of alcoholic beverages via any medium.

The policy forms part of efforts by the government to ensure that minors are protected from being lured into alcoholism.

But many industry players, including Baba Sidiq, say this move is adversely impacting the showbiz sector.

He further added that the time restrictions on beverage advertisements in the media are also making it difficult for industry players to design a suitable package for alcoholic drink producers.