Purpose: Upstream social marketers advocate implementing effective public policies to protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of advertising harmful products. This study aims to explore how alcohol ad content restrictions (as practised in some countries where ads may only convey factual information and objective properties of alcohol products) versus non-regulated advertising affect consumers’ product perceptions, attitude towards the ad and desire to drink. This study also examines how such restrictions influence the noticeability of text health warnings in ads (signalling alcohol-related risks) depending on their prominence. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-method study was used to increase the validity of results. An online quantitative survey (n = 348) and an eye-tracking study (n = 184) were conducted on young French people (15–30). The eye-tracking method is particularly relevant for objectively measuring visual attention. Findings: Results show that content restrictions on alcohol advertising reduce ad appeal and desire to drink. A more prominent format enhanced attentional processing of the text warning, whereas none of the tested ad contents influenced its noticeability. Practical implications: This study assesses scientific evidence of the effect on alcohol ad content regulations adopted by some countries and provides arguments for upstream social marketers to inform and influence policymakers. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first multi-method study that assesses the effect of regulated vs non-regulated alcohol ads in terms of persuasion and of text warning visibility.