U.S. SUPREME COURT MAKES RULING ON AD RESTRICTIONS

     The U. S. Supreme Court on Monday gave a broad new
protection to commercial speech in a decision ad groups are
labeling as the most significant for advertising in a decade and
one almost certain to affect attempts to regulate tobacco and
liquor ads, according to ADVERTISING AGE.  The court unanimously
struck down a RI law that banned liquor price advertising, but
used the challenging lawsuit to spell out the limits of
government ad restrictions.  The majority opinion said that only
narrowly tailored ad restrictions are constitutional -- and only
if regulators can prove their effect (AD AGE ONLINE, 5/14).  The
ruling could have "major consequences" on efforts to restrict ads
for other products, such as cigarettes.  The tobacco industry
"cheered" the decision as "ammunition" in its battle against the
Clinton Administration's plan to restrict cigarette ads on
billboards, in newspapers and magazines, and in sponsoring
sporting events ("NBC Nightly News," NBC, 5/13).