Alcohol Marketing

Challengers and Proponents

Underage drinkers are exposed to a substantial proportion of alcohol advertising presented in an appealing style to young people. An example of marketing appeal dates back to the use of "Joe Camel" in advertising cigarettes in which a sporty-looking cartoon camel wearing sunglasses is seen smoking a cigarette. Today, youth continue to be flooded with images of alcohol presented in an attractive manner toward this age group. Many young people are familiar with the Budweiser Clydesdales and Bud frogs, Coors Light twins, Absolut Vodka bottles, and other similar alcohol cartoon icons or figures, in part due to the sheer amount of exposure to such content.

Research indicates that images of alcoholic products far outnumber preventative messages. For example, it is estimated there are as many as 226 advertisements for alcoholic products for every one message of "responsible advertising," or that youth ages 12 to 20 are 96 times more likely to see an advertisement for alcohol than about the risks of underage drinking. Studies have established that the exposure of young persons to these messages influences both their beliefs and intentions to drink alcohol. Evidence also shows advertising may have a direct impact on youth drinking practices and associated problems; specifically, the more advertisements youth see, the more they drink. Additionally, communities with more alcohol ads have higher levels of youth drinking.

Each year the alcohol industry spends more than $4.5 billion marketing its products. As part of an incredibly lucrative industry, producers of alcohol products are not always amenable to changing their marketing campaigns. Often one of the greatest contested issues of requiring changes in alcohol advertising is the right to free speech. Enforcing regulations on alcohol advertising comes in direct conflict with the violation of First Amendment rights. The field of substance abuse prevention recognizes the constitutional constraints of attempting to impose restrictions on direct advertising and therefore suggests the most beneficial response is to facilitate public awareness of advertising practices.

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