The Guinness Blog I worked on in my previous job took time and effort to work out the legal restrictions. I’m pretty sure the Glenfiddich blog (which I discovered today via Suw) had some similar issues, although their lawyers are not making them use a age check.

But the Miller Brewing company are taking a different approach. They are publishing a blog that discusses the whole brewing industry, written by a journalist. So it attracts anyone who is interested in the industry, whilst pretty subtly pushing across the seriousness of the brand.

Diageo has also started another blog lately in the same vein. The No Bull Bar Blog is being written by Guy Smith, Executive Vice President of Diageo North America and is being used to challenge and correct ‘anti-alcohol studies’ or at least point you to places to make up your own mind. I’m a fan of companies using tools like this to challenge the media, either by arguing the point or just publishing the raw interviews so that the information can be seen without spin or the reporters spin.