13.02.2025 - The Norwegian Directorate of Health has determined that the music group Ballinciaga has illegally advertised alcoholic beverages. The group has now received a notice to rectify multiple violations and faces a potential penalty of approximately 2.4 million NOK.
“The Directorate of Health has uncovered extensive marketing that violates the advertising ban in the Alcohol Act. All forms of alcohol advertising are prohibited, but Ballinciaga has a young audience, and we believe it is particularly serious that this marketing targets children and young people. Due to the severity of the case and a thorough assessment of the circumstances, the preliminary amount of the penalty has been set at the maximum level,” said Linda Granlund, Director of the Division at the Directorate of Health.
Severe violations The Directorate of Health has identified multiple breaches of the advertising ban on social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Additionally, the group has advertised alcoholic beverages at events.
“Ballinciaga must now remove, amend, and correct all the severe violations they have committed. This is one of the most serious cases we have encountered, and we cannot avoid taking action,” Granlund stated.
The producer of the alcoholic beverage has also been notified of a possible revocation of its production license and/or the imposition of a penalty for failing to comply with the Alcohol Act. This includes breaches of the advertising ban, failure to report alcohol sales, incorrect labeling of packaging, and non-compliance with the requirements for responsible license management.
Serious case The penalty notice for Ballinciaga is set at the maximum limit, which in this case is 20 G, equivalent to just over 2.4 million NOK. According to the Directorate of Health, Ballinciaga has violated all points of the advertising ban in the Alcohol Act:
· the prohibition against advertising alcoholic beverages
· the prohibition against advertising products with the same brand or trademark as alcoholic beverages
· the prohibition against including alcoholic beverages in the marketing of other goods or services
Multiple violations The Directorate of Health has received several complaints regarding Ballinciaga’s alcohol marketing. Based on this information, the Directorate initiated an inspection.
“In the preliminary notice now sent, we have ordered corrections of certain issues and indicated that we may impose penalties for events and social media marketing. For instance, Ballinciaga shared content where alcoholic beverages were promoted from the stage, and young people were invited to participate in drinking competitions,” emphasized Linda Granlund.
Reported by Actis
It was Actis, that reported Ballinciaga’s practices to the Directorate of Health last year.
The managing director of Actis, Inger Lise Hansen, is very pleased that the Directorate of Health is now issuing a significant fine to Ballinciaga, reports NRK.
“This is a group that communicates with and has many children and young people as their followers. Therefore, it is especially speculative and cynical to promote alcohol to this group,” Hansen said.
She hopes that this will lead to a cleanup among many influencers who now understand that they must comply with the ban on alcohol advertising in Norway.
On February 12 NRK reports that Ballinciaga has deleted all posts on social media, as well as music videos.
Source: Norwegian Directorate of Health (2025). Notifies Ballinciaga of penalty fee for serious violations of the Alcohol Act [online document]. Oslo: Norwegian Directorate of Health (last professional update February 11, 2025, accessed February 13, 2025). Available from https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/nyheter/varsler-ballinciaga-om-overtredelsesgebyr-for-alvorlige-brudd-pa-alkoholloven