Can I use an AI-generated person in an alcohol ad?

Yes, where alcohol ads are allowed, but the age rules still apply to how the person looks. The UK code judges whether someone seems under 25, and the US industry codes expect models of 25 or older with ID, which a generated person cannot show. Cast clearly older, check every image, and keep the casting brief on file.

Do these rules apply to non-alcoholic beer and spirits?

In the UK, yes. The CAP Code has rules for alcohol alternatives at or below 0.5% ABV, including a prominent ABV statement and the under-25 rule for anyone shown drinking. If an ad for a zero-alcohol drink ends up promoting the brand’s alcoholic version, the full alcohol rules apply.

Why does the model keep changing my can’s colors?

Metal and glass pick up color from their surroundings, so the model mixes the scene into the pack. State the pack colors as hex codes, keep strong scene colors away from the brand colors, and check the result with an eyedropper. See how to keep brand colors accurate.

AI drink photos: cans, bottles, pours and condensation

Checked September 24, 20267 min read

Short answer

AI handles drink mood well: splashes, pours, ice and condensation can look convincing. It struggles with text wrapped around a can, with the way glass bends the scene behind it, and with the exact color of the liquid. Give it straight-on photos of the real can, light the glass from behind, check the liquid color with an eyedropper, and for alcohol, cast people who clearly look over 25.

Where AI drink photos go wrong

Element	What the model tends to do	What real looks like	Fix
Can or bottle label	Redraws the text; letters near the curve drift	The same text, squeezed toward the edges by the curve	Photograph the can at four turns and keep the front toward camera
Condensation	Even, round beads spread like a pattern	Beads of mixed size, a few running drops, and a dry glass above the liquid line	Say where the fog stops and which drops run
Ice	Identical clear cubes	Cubes that differ, with cracks, frost or melting edges	Name the ice: clear bar cubes, crushed, or cloudy freezer cubes
Bubbles	Even dots, sometimes in a still drink	Trails rising from a few points, growing as they rise	Say still or sparkling, and where the bubbles start
Foam on beer	A flat white cap	A dense head with an uneven top and lacing on the glass	Give the head height in centimeters
Splash and pour	A crown splash that covers the label	A splash that frames the pack and leaves the label clear	Say where the liquid goes and that the label stays clear
Glass and refraction	The background shows straight through	The scene behind the liquid shifts, bends and flips	Put a simple background behind the glass and ask for refraction
Liquid color	Drifts warmer or more saturated	Darker where the liquid is thick, lighter at the edges	Sample a hex code from a real photo and put it in the prompt

The model knows what a cold drink looks like in general and nothing about yours. Each fix hands it one fact it cannot guess, such as a color, a fill level or the kind of ice.

How to light glass and liquid

Glass shows up at its edges, and liquid shows its color when light passes through it. Two setups cover most drink shots. For a clear or colored drink, put a bright, even surface behind it: the liquid glows and the glass edges read as dark lines. For a dark drink, or a bottle you want outlined, use a black background with two narrow lights behind and to the sides, so each edge gets a thin bright line.

Look	How to describe it
Glowing liquid	"lit from behind through a white diffusion panel, so the liquid glows amber (#C8781E)"
Bright edges on black	"two narrow strip lights behind the bottle draw thin white lines down both edges on a black background"
Clean edges on white	"bright white background behind the glass; its edges read as crisp dark outlines"
Cold	"fine condensation below the liquid line, two drops running down the front"
A readable label	"soft frontal fill lights the label evenly, with no glare across the text"

Decide what a shiny can or bottle reflects. A metal can in a room scene mirrors the room, and the model will invent whatever it likes there unless you say. For more setups and terms, see lighting words for AI prompts.

Keep the can or bottle identical

A can is a label wrapped around a cylinder. A straight-on photo shows the middle clearly and squeezes the rest toward the edges, so the model has to guess the text it cannot see. These steps give it the text instead.

Photograph the real can or bottle at four turns: front, back and each side, with the label flat to the lens.
If you have the flat label artwork, add it as a reference. It shows the text that a curved photo hides.
In the prompt, say which way the label faces and that its text must match the reference exactly.
Keep the front of the label toward the camera, turned only a few degrees at most.
Keep splashes, fruit, ice and hands off the label.
For store images, composite the real can over the render. The steps are in keeping labels readable in AI photos of packaged goods.

Pours, splashes and bubbles take more tries

Motion costs renders. In our own 2026 campaigns, still packshots with no words in the render took about 3 renders per keeper, and food ads with motion took 12. Plan pour and splash shots with that range in mind, and draft them on a cheap model first. The full numbers are in how many AI renders it takes to get one usable photo.

Name the moment, such as "the instant the pour hits the surface of the drink."
Say how motion is frozen: "caught at 1/8000 s, every droplet sharp."
Place the splash: "liquid arcs behind the can and never crosses the label."
Say still or sparkling, and where the bubbles rise from.

Alcohol ads: who can appear and what the picture can say

Age is the rule most likely to catch an AI cast. The UK advertising code says people shown drinking, or playing a significant role, in an alcohol ad "must neither be nor seem to be under 25." TikTok bans alcohol ads "featuring people below the age of 25." The US spirits and beer industry codes (the Distilled Spirits Council’s 2025 code and the Beer Institute’s code updated January 1, 2026) say models and actors should be at least 25, "substantiated by proper identification," and should look of legal drinking age. A generated person has no ID, and neither code mentions AI, so the careful reading is a cast that clearly looks older than 25.

Rule	UK ad code (CAP)	US industry codes	Ad platforms
Age of people shown	Must not be or seem under 25 (18.16)	Models at least 25, with ID, who should look 21 or older	TikTok: no one under 25. Meta: target 18+ everywhere, 21+ in the US, 25+ in Sweden
Success and attractiveness	No link to confidence, popularity, seduction or attractiveness (18.2, 18.5)	No social, professional, educational or athletic success from drinking	Google: no implying alcohol improves social, sexual, professional, intellectual or athletic standing
Health and performance	No therapeutic qualities, mood change or better mental or physical ability (18.7); no health, fitness or weight-control claims (18.17)	No curative or therapeutic claims; no unsubstantiated health claims	Google: no health or therapeutic benefits
Excess and danger	Nothing that encourages excessive drinking (18.1); no link to driving or dangerous machinery (18.12)	No drinking by someone about to drive, swim, jump into water or ski	TikTok: no excessive drinking or intoxication. Google: no drinking while driving or doing tasks that need alertness
Strength	Factual only, with no undue emphasis (18.9)	No promoting potency	Check each platform
Youth appeal	Nothing likely to appeal particularly to under-18s (18.14)	Nothing that primarily appeals to under-21s, such as cartoon characters	All three restrict targeting by age

Rules as published in September 2026. CAP rule numbers are from section 18 of the UK non-broadcast code.

In the US, the federal alcohol advertising rules enforced by the TTB (the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) also cover pictures: they ban any "statement, design, device, or representation" that is obscene or indecent, and health-related statements that are untrue or misleading. Meta blocks alcohol ads in 17 countries, including Norway, Lithuania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey.

Zero-alcohol drinks are covered too. In the UK, ads for alcohol alternatives at or below 0.5% ABV must state the ABV prominently and follow the same under-25 rule (18.19 and 18.24). For casting beyond alcohol, see how to cast AI models responsibly.

Checks for every drink image

Label text matches the real can or bottle at 100% zoom
Liquid color matches a photo of the real drink, checked with an eyedropper
Fill level is right for the pour shown
Condensation sits below the liquid line, and drops run downward
Bubbles appear only in sparkling drinks, rising from a few points
The ice is one kind of ice, with no cubes melting into the glass
The background behind the glass is bent by the liquid
No stray logo or text on glassware or props
For alcohol: everyone shown clearly looks over 25, and nobody is driving, swimming or at work
No health, strength or success claim in the picture or the copy

Questions people also ask

Can I use an AI-generated person in an alcohol ad?: Yes, where alcohol ads are allowed, but the age rules still apply to how the person looks. The UK code judges whether someone seems under 25, and the US industry codes expect models of 25 or older with ID, which a generated person cannot show. Cast clearly older, check every image, and keep the casting brief on file.
Do these rules apply to non-alcoholic beer and spirits?: In the UK, yes. The CAP Code has rules for alcohol alternatives at or below 0.5% ABV, including a prominent ABV statement and the under-25 rule for anyone shown drinking. If an ad for a zero-alcohol drink ends up promoting the brand’s alcoholic version, the full alcohol rules apply.
Why does the model keep changing my can’s colors?: Metal and glass pick up color from their surroundings, so the model mixes the scene into the pack. State the pack colors as hex codes, keep strong scene colors away from the brand colors, and check the result with an eyedropper. See how to keep brand colors accurate.

Where Overs fits

Overs can cast packaged products too: it makes a character sheet of one person, you approve it, and every later photo with a person uses that same model. Checking that the person clearly looks over 25 stays with you, and Overs does not publish ads, so each platform’s rules apply when you upload.

Free for 40 photos a month. The AI that makes the photos is billed separately, on your own key, with no markup from Overs.

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Sources

Checked on September 24, 2026. Prices, specs and rules change; follow the links for the current versions.