WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Distilled Spirits Council announced today that Lynne J. Omlie has been named an Outside Advisory Board member to the Distilled Spirits Council’s (DISCUS) Code of Responsible Practices for Beverage Alcohol Advertising and Marketing.
Ms. Omlie, who formerly served as DISCUS Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and Senior Advisor to the President, spent more than three decades as the DISCUS Code Review Board staff liaison.
“Through Lynne’s dedication and contributions to developing self-regulatory policies for spirits advertising, the DISCUS Code is viewed as a role model of effective self-regulation for other industries,” said Distilled Spirits Council President & CEO Chris Swonger. “I can think of no better person than Lynne Omlie to uphold the high standards of the DISCUS Code and help guide spirits companies on responsible advertising. While at DISCUS, it was Lynne’s mission and passion to carefully manage and enrich the DISCUS Code and we are so pleased to have Lynne back as an Outside Advisory Board member.”
Prior to joining DISCUS in 1987, Omlie was in private practice at Howrey & Simon, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in business commercial litigation. Before her tenure at Howrey & Simon, she worked at the Federal Trade Commission for FTC Commissioner David A. Clanton.
Ms. Omlie will serve as one of the four outside advisors to the DISCUS Code. Established by DISCUS in 2003, the Outside Advisory Board provides confidential guidance and pre-reviews advertisements upon request by spirits companies. The Board also serves as a tie-breaker if the Code Review Board cannot reach a decision on a particular complaint.
The other three advisors are: Jodie Bernstein, former Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and a leading force in creating the Nation Advertising Review Council of the Better Business Bureaus; Dr. Constantine W. Curris, former president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, with over 38 years of higher education experience, including former President of Clemson University, Murray State University and University of Northern Iowa; and Richard Gitter, former broadcast network executive with 25 years’ experience overseeing advertising standards and compliance for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
The DISCUS Code, first adopted in 1934, now includes more than 40 provisions regarding the responsible placement and content of beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials.
Through the voluntary provisions in the Code, DISCUS members have held themselves to a standard higher than mandated by any law or regulation. Over the decades, there has been 100 percent compliance by DISCUS members with Code Review Board decisions and overwhelming compliance by non-DISCUS members.
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