Alcohol brands and messages on printed cups: what the CAP Code alcohol rules say, and where they may reach

A brewery taproom, a gin brand at a Christmas market and a bar group with its own reusable cups all share a design question: what can the printed cup say about the drink? The advertising rules for alcohol in the CAP Code answer that for marketing communications, and a cup carrying a brand may or may not be one. This article sets out what section 18 of the Code says, what its scope page covers and leaves out, and what that means for artwork. The Code is a self-regulatory code run by the Committee of Advertising Practice and applied by the Advertising Standards Authority. It is not an Act, and this article does not state what the law requires. Our guide to logos and the registered symbol on cup artwork covers a different set of design rules.

What section 18 covers

The principle at the head of section 18 is that marketing communications for alcoholic drinks should not be targeted at people under 18 and should not imply, condone or encourage immoderate, irresponsible or anti-social drinking. The definition says the rules apply to marketing communications for alcoholic drinks and those that feature or refer to them, including where a soft drink is promoted as a mixer, and that alcoholic drinks are drinks containing more than 0.5 per cent alcohol.

Rules that bear on a design

Several rules read directly on what a printed cup can carry.

Rule 18.2 says marketing communications must not claim or imply that alcohol can enhance confidence or popularity. Rule 18.4 says drinking alcohol must not be portrayed as a challenge, and that they must not show, imply, encourage or refer to aggression or unruly, irresponsible or anti-social behaviour. Rule 18.5 bars linking alcohol with seduction, sexual activity or sexual success. Rule 18.10 says communications that include a promotion must not imply, condone or encourage excessive consumption.

Rule 18.9 allows factual information about alcoholic strength but says communications must not imply that a drink may be preferred because of its alcohol content or intoxicating effect. Rule 18.17 allows factual information about product contents but not health, fitness or weight-control claims, and the only permitted nutrition claims are low-alcohol, reduced alcohol and reduced energy, or claims likely to have the same meaning for the consumer.

On young audiences, rule 18.14 says communications must not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture, and should not feature real or fictitious characters likely to appeal particularly to them in a way that might encourage the young to drink. Rule 18.16 says people shown drinking or playing a significant role must neither be nor seem to be under 25.

What the scope page says

The scope page lists what the Code applies to, including advertisements in printed material, posters and other promotional media in public places, promotions in non-broadcast media, and marketing communications on a marketer's own website that are directly connected with supplying goods. It also says the Code does not apply to a list of things. Exclusion m covers packages, wrappers, labels, tickets, timetables and price lists, unless they advertise another product or a promotion or are visible in a marketing communication. Exclusion r says sponsorship is not covered, but that marketing communications referring to sponsorship are covered.

For websites, apps and platforms, exclusion c sets a territorial test. Non-paid-for communications are covered if the marketer has a UK registered company address or is subject to licensing conditions requiring compliance with the Code imposed by a UK public authority or body, and communications appearing on a website with a .uk top-level domain are covered too. Paid-for communications are covered if they target people in the UK. The pages read set no equivalent test for printed objects.

Where a printed cup may reach

None of the pages read names a cup or a branded cup. The scope page says in part IV h that the Code is primarily concerned with content and not with products, but that some rules go beyond content, for example on the suitability of promotional items; which rules those are was not read. What follows is our reading.

A cup that carries an alcohol brand and is handed to people at an event looks to us like promotional material for the brand rather than packaging for a product, so we would design it as if section 18 applies. A cup that is only a vessel for a drink the visitor has bought is closer to the wrappers and labels in exclusion m, but that exclusion falls away if the cup advertises another product or a promotion, which a branded design may do.

The point that is easiest to settle is the photograph. A cup shown in an advertisement or a social post for the drink is visible in a marketing communication, which is the wording of exclusion m, so that exclusion does not help the cup in that picture. Whether the post itself is covered turns on the scope page's tests for websites and platforms, and in our reading artwork that would not pass section 18 on a cup is also a problem for every image of the cup.

Alcohol alternatives and shared brands

Rules 18.18 and 18.19 deal with alcohol alternatives, which the Code defines as non-alcoholic drinks at or under 0.5 per cent ABV that are intended to replace alcoholic drinks in contexts where they would normally be consumed, such as non-alcoholic beer, and say that references to a shared brand name without a reference to the alternative are likely to be understood as references to alcohol. A venue that prints one design across an alcoholic drink and a non-alcoholic version of it should read those rules before choosing a single logo for both. Rule 18.19 requires marketing communications for alcohol alternatives to include a prominent statement of their ABV.

On the product side

The promotional cups page says cups are printed either in one colour or as a full colour wrap, and that artwork templates and a design service are available. The reusable coffee cups page describes branded reusable coffee cups with lids. A design can be checked against section 18 before the run is ordered, and a quote can be asked for once the artwork is settled.

Where this stands

This was checked on 26 October 2026. The CAP Code is revised from time to time, the pages read are the current ones on the Advertising Standards Authority website, and none of them mentions cups.