The Swedish Alcohol Act contains an image rule which stipulates that only the alcohol product’s packaging and ingredients in the product can be displayed by alcohol companies for informational purposes. Images can not convey moods or show poured alcoholic beverages.
Mackmyra Whiskey went against this rule in a series of advertisements launched on social media in Autumn 2019. The ads showed their products in various environments such as by the sea, in nature and on bar counters.
The case went through the district court, the Patent and Market Court of Appeal and ended up in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court held that the advertisements were against the law, thus banning them.