Alcohol

We allow the types of  alcohol, alcohol-related products and alcohol alternative beverages listed below to be advertised in the countries identified below, provided that they comply with all local laws, industry standards and our policies. All alcohol-related ads must meet the following specific requirements. 

• About the policy
• Requirements for alcohol advertising
• Legal and regulatory requirements
• Alcohol location restrictions
• Ad serving for Alcohol ads
• Alcohol advertising location specifics
• Apply for certification for 0% alcohol beverages in countries where alcohol advertising is not permitted

The following may be advertised in the locations listed under location restrictions below:

Ads promoting the sale of alcoholic beverages: These ads feature alcoholic beverages available for purchase on the linked website or app or direct to offline purchasing locations.

Branding and informational ads: These ads focus on or raise awareness of alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol mixers: Alcohol mixers may be advertised provided that they target audiences above the legal purchase age for alcohol in the country where they are displayed.

Alcohol accessories: We permit the advertising of specialized equipment for making alcoholic beverages, alcohol recipes and instructions on how to make homemade spirits.

Examples (non-exhaustive):

• Home brewing kits
• Distillation equipment

Low ABV (<0.5%) Drinks and 0% Alcohol alternative beverages We permit advertising of low ABV and alcohol alternative beverages. They may also be advertised in India, Indonesia and Egypt provided that advertisers targeting these countries have completed our certification requirements and advertisers do not exceed local restrictions on ABV. Learn how to apply for certification.

Requirements for alcohol advertising

The following requirements must be adhered to in all alcohol advertising:

Irresponsible consumption and content

• Ads must not mislead consumers about the nature and strength of the drink, unduly emphasize high alcohol strength, suggest that alcohol can enhance physical, sporting or mental ability or produce social or sexual success or acceptance, or present alcohol as a means of removing social or sexual inhibitions.
• Ads must not encourage excessive or irresponsible consumption.
• Ads cannot imply health benefits or therapeutic properties of alcohol.
• Ads must not portray or encourage drinking prior to or during activities requiring sobriety or a high degree of skill or precision.

Inappropriate appeal to minors

• Ads must not target or be designed to appeal primarily to those under the legal purchase age for alcohol in the country they target. Themes, icons, music, games, or characters that appeal primarily to minors should be avoided. Minors shall never be shown consuming an alcoholic beverage. Pregnant people shall never be shown consuming an alcoholic beverage.

Regulated substances

• Ads for drinks that contain THC or other regulated substances (including those that are marketed as 'alcohol free' or promote alcohol like effects) are out of scope of this policy. These products must comply with our Dangerous products or services policy.

Restricted ad formats

• Reservation display ads and Google TV masthead ads cannot be used to promote alcohol.

Learn more about the Irresponsible alcohol advertising policy.

Legal and regulatory requirements

Ads must adhere to all applicable local laws, industry codes, guidelines, licenses, and approvals in every country where they are displayed, including by providing any required notices and abiding by restrictions on alcohol types and watershed hours.

Landing page and Alcohol by volume (ABV)

• In locations with ABV limits for alcohol advertisements, the highest ABV must be clearly indicated on the landing page.
  • Examples (non-exhaustive):
    • Iceland (2.25%)
    • Ecuador (5%)
    • Vietnam (5.5%)

Fermented drinks

Drinks with an alcohol content of 0.5% or higher must include ABV on the landing page.

Alcohol location restrictions

Advertisers should ensure that they understand local legal restrictions on what products can be advertised and the content of advertising (for example, in Poland, only branding and informational alcohol advertisements for beer are permitted. Google Ads requires advertisers that intend to serve alcohol information ads targeting Poland to apply to advertise).

Advertisers may only target ads within the scope of this policy at users in the countries listed below and must not target them at any other country:

**In Poland you must comply with local restrictions on the types of alcohol that may be advertised and have completed our certification process.

Ad serving for Alcohol ads

Location specifics

Refer to the Alcohol location restrictions to learn where certain types of alcohol ads can and can't run.

• If your ad campaign only targets locations that aren't included in this list, your ad will be labeled "Disapproved" and won't run at all.
• If your ad campaign targets both allowed and disallowed locations, your ad will be labeled "Eligible (limited)". Your ads will run in the allowed locations and won't run in the disallowed locations.

Ad platforms

Alcohol ads can run on the following ad platforms:

• Google Ads
• Display & Video 360
• YouTube: If you want to apply age gating on your homepage, brand channel, or video, learn more about Age targeting and ads.
• AdMob
• Ad Exchange in Google Ad Manager

Ad networks

Alcohol ads can run on the following ad networks:

• Google Search: Alcohol ads can show on Google and the Google Search Network. Note that these ads won't show to users who have the SafeSearch feature turned on.
• Display network: Alcohol ads can show on partner properties in certain countries where the partner has opted-in to show such content through AdSense and AdMob. Learn more about AdSense Restricted sensitive categories.
• Ad Exchange for Google Ad Manager Seller network: Alcohol ads can show in certain countries on partner sites that have opted-in to show such content. Learn more about the Authorized Buyers Alcohol policy.

Ad formats

Acceptable ad formats can vary depending on the platform you're using, the status of your ad, and whether a publisher or partner has opted to show these types of ads.

Examples of ad formats that don't allow alcohol ads (non-exhaustive):

• App install image ads
• App install video ads
• Consumer ratings annotations
• Discovery ads
• Dynamic search ads
• Gmail ads

Alcohol advertising location specifics

Advertising products in scope of this policy isn't allowed in any location that isn't listed in this policy's country specifics. You must ensure you know the advertising allowances in every target location you wish to advertise in.

Ads and campaigns that target countries that aren't included in this list will be disapproved.

Users can limit the ads they see about certain topics that they might find uncomfortable. Learn more about how to Limit ads about sensitive topics on Google.

Apply for certification for 0% alcohol beverages in locations where alcohol advertising is not permitted

Locations where this certificate is required:

• Egypt
• India
• Indonesia

To advertise 0% alcohol beverages in the above countries where standard alcohol ads are prohibited, you must submit the 0% alcohol advertising application form.

• Ensure the application is fully completed, including your website URL, to avoid processing delays.
• A separate application form is required for each location you intend to target.
• You are required to re-certify immediately if there are material changes to your application details. Failure to recertify may result in account suspension.

Apply for certification