Until recently, the assumption was that this right extended to the state's right to restrict or prohibit advertising of alcoholic beverages. Based on this assumption, the state of Utah virtually banned all advertising of alcoholic beverages. It was illegal and could result in criminal sanctions and, even worse, the revocation of a state issued license to sell beer, wine, or liquor, if a licensee had a neon beer sign or an alcohol price list in a window that was visible to the public. Restaurants could not post advertisements with a picture of a person holding a glass of wine, and taverns could not have the word BEER displayed on the outside of their establishments. Obviously, a billboard or a newspaper advertisement by a Utah licensee was out of the question.
Most taverns look like taverns, even to the uninitiated.
The recent popularity of non-alcoholic beers helped deal with the problem of neon beer signs in tavern windows. Tavern operators put neon signs advertising Cutter and O'Doul's in windows. Ironically, most members of the public offended by and who sought protection from neon beer signs in tavern windows knew no difference between a neon sign for Cutter and one for Budweiser. If a national brewer like Anhauser-Busch, located in St. Louis, Missouri, arranged and paid for a Utah newspaper ad for Budweiser, that ad ran without rebuke by the Utah authorities. Such an ad must not mention any Utah sellers or licensees, and can not be paid for by a Utah seller or licensee.