The Fight Against Alcohol Advertisements

The Fight Against Alcohol Advertisements

Alcohol and beer companies utilize television commercials, radio airways, and social media to reach customers across the country. Over the last few years, there has been an uproar within the American community regarding the effects of these advertisements on America’s young adults and minors. Many believe that these commercials are harmless and that there is little negative impact on younger viewers. However, a select few have chosen to challenge the giant adult beverage companies and their marketing strategies. Contrary to what many believe, there is a correlation between alcohol advertisements and the inappropriate consumption of alcohol among minors and those up to 24 years old. In particular, underage and binge drinking have become problems that have damaged the health and lives of young Americans. Alcohol advertisements have encouraged underage and binge drinking as there is evidence to suggest that there is a correlation between commercial viewings and drinks being consumed. To combat this issue, consumers must limit the time young adults and minors watch television, and there also must be a push for an educational media presence to challenge these dangerous advertisements.

Today in American culture, alcohol companies portray drinking as fun and leisurely activity. From Bud Light commercials taking place on the beach to Michelob Ultra ads having young people sing a beer anthem all over the world, these companies have depicted drinking as a time to let loose and not a time to be safe. In the span of the 60 second Michelob Ultra commercial, the plea to drink responsibly only appears for 6 seconds. During those few seconds, the company was careful not to let the warning ruin the party where everyone was conversing and holding an alcoholic beverage. The two words “Drink Responsible” were placed in a small font on the bottom of the screen. After 6 seconds the faint message vanished (Michelob). Many of the actors in the alcohol ads appeared to be young and happy. Consequently, having young actors in these ads fuels the issue of underage drinking. By having young actors who are having a fun time, younger audiences will see the acts of drinking alcohol as acceptable and an outlet to relieve stress while having fun. A study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated, “among a group of 2,250 middle-school students in Los Angeles, those who viewed more television programs containing alcohol commercials while in the seventh grade were more likely in the eighth grade to drink beer, wine/liquor, or to drink three or more drinks on at least one occasion during the month prior to the follow-up survey” (Alcohol). While these commercials illustrate that drinking has a place in social settings, these commercials never cover the negatives of consuming alcohol. All of the actors were holding beers in the Michelob Ultra commercial, yet no one in any of the ads was dealing with the consequences of drinking such as poor judgment, alcohol poisoning, or slow reaction times. Young individuals who have no experience with alcohol only see the upside, not the downside of consuming these libations. While companies such as Bud Light and Michelob Ultra may believe that a small two-word warning for 6 seconds during their commercial is enough to educate people not to drink underage and to drink responsibly, this is not the case.

Although the alcohol industry tries to promote alcohol awareness, the companies are more focused on marketing their products to viewers which include individuals under the legal drinking age. For example, Anheuser-Busch a brewing company in St. Louis, Missouri “‘invested more than $375 million in the past to implement alcohol awareness programs to fight drunk driving, help retailers spot fake IDs, and encourage parents to talk with their kids about drinking'” (B. O’Connell). The company may have invested millions of dollars, but a majority of the kids most likely did not see the benefits of the programs. Instead, children and teenagers are more likely to view the highly effective advertisements Anheuser-Busch developed. For example, many alcohol companies create ads for the Super Bowl. Personally, my classmates and I discussed more about the funny ads during the Super Bowl, such as a 5 second Bud Light commercial instead of alcohol awareness organizations while attending Brownsburg community schools. In one evening alone over 103.4 million people watched the super bowl in 2018 (Geeetube). During the commercial breaks, Anheuser-Busch ran a one-minute ad which only mentioned to drink responsibly for two seconds. The message was printed in small gray handwriting and almost matched the white background. The font and the time frame suggest brewing companies only genuinely care about marketing their products to increase revenues. Companies in the industry may try and implement programs to decrease underage drinking, but when their products reach the eyes of millions of people, including teenagers, the goal of promoting the legal age of consuming alcohol goes out the window.

It is clear that alcohol companies hardly attempt to encourage responsible behavior and the safe consumption of their products. These companies and the majority of consumers are also unaware that these commercials prompt young adults (21-24-year olds) and minors to engage in binge drinking and underage drinking.  The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), is a “state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of noninstitutionalized, civilian U.S adults that collect information on many health conditions and risk behaviors” (Vital 15). On September of 2011, the group polled 457,677 adults. From their research, they found that 17.1% of those polled reported episodes of binge drinking and the highest prevalence (28.2% of those polled) and intensity (9.3 drinks at a time) were most common in people ages 18-24 years (Vital 14). In addition to this, BFRS included other information that stated that binge drinking accounted for “more than half of the estimated 80,000 average annual deaths and three-quarters of $223.5 billion in economic costs resulting from excessive alcohol consumption” (Vital 14). Binge drinking is a deadly issue, and its intensity and prevalence call for consumers to rethink the influence of alcohol advertisements in America.  It is evident that binge drinking is a prominent issue in the United States and those who are most affected by it are young American men and women.

When young adults and those under the age of 18 participate in binge drinking, they are usually unaware of its consequences. Binge drinking is characterized as “having 5 or more alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours” (CDC). Some effects of this behavior are slurred speech, drowsiness, vomiting, headaches, breathing difficulties, distorted vision, and hearing, impaired judgment, decreased perception and coordination, unconsciousness, and blacking out/memory loss (Foundation for a Drug-Free World). There are also several other consequences that stem from the effects above. When you drink enough to where your judgment is impaired, you can make poor decisions such as driving while intoxicated. Underage students are 17x more likely to get in a car crash when they have an illegal blood alcohol level of .08% (CDC). In an article from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers found that “85% of teens in high school who report drinking and driving in the past month also say they binge drank”. Another effect of is that those who binge drink are more likely to get injured. This is because when someone is drunk they have slower reaction time and if they were to receive an injury they would be less likely to feel it. While these effects may be characterized as short-term consequences, some of the long-term effects are long-term injuries to yourself and others, loss of job/productivity in your career, personal/family problems, alcohol poisoning, liver disease, permanent damage to the brain, alcoholism, and death (CDC). Binge drinking poses a physical danger to the young Americans who participate in such behavior and heightens the need to address this issue.

Along with binge drinking, underage drinking is another real problem today that particular affects American minors. In her article, “Underage Drinking,” Mary Ellen O’Connell takes research done from the 1980’s to the early 2000’s and uses it to provide shocking details about alcohol and minors. She includes a graph from 2003 that reveals that “almost half of 12th graders reported drinking in the previous 30 days, compared to the 21.5 percent who used marijuana and 26.7 percent who smoked in the same period” (M. O’Connell 83). O’Connell not only displays that this is a prevalent issue, but that it is also a costly one. She writes that the “social cost of underage drinking has been estimated at $53 billion including $19 billion from traffic crashes and $29 billion from violent crime” (M. O’Connell 82). Many lives are lost, and a significant amount of money is wasted because of these drinking choices. Again, it is clear that alcohol advertisements encourage irresponsible behavior and do little to push for responsible actions. Seeing the damage that underage drinking create for the younger generation intensifies the danger of modern alcohol advertising and further addresses the need for a solution.

Underage drinking or any drinking below the legal limit also bring upon negative health effects for those who participate in this behavior. Underage people’s bodies are still developing, and alcohol has been noted to cause negative impacts on the development of the brain and other parts of the body. In particular, alcohol has can cause long-term memory loss in a developing brain. It can also cause learning problems later in life (niaaa). Another effect is that it can elevate the number of enzymes that are in the liver, causing premature liver damage (niaaa). That can lead to an increased risk of having liver damage later in life even if they don’t have a drinking problem later on. Drinking can also cause growth problems as well while you are still developing. It affects certain growth hormones that help in the development of organs, muscles, and bones(niaaa). It is also expected that drinking might have effects on the reproductive system. Underage binge drinking not only has short and long-term impacts but it also has effects on the growth and development of minors in this country.

While it is clear that something must be done to ensure the safety and health of young adults and minors, there lacks a single solution. Luckily, two possible solutions can be utilized among consumers, one that anyone can do today and another that we can work towards shortly. In addition to the previous information, it is essential to consider that cable television is “home to 95% of all alcohol ads on national networks” (Alcohol). Another study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs sampled 1,000 young Americans (ages 13-20) who reported drinking in the last 30 days (Chedekel). They were surveyed on their past-month viewership of 20 shows that contained alcohol ads. Their calculations yielded that for “every 100 adstock-unit increase in exposure was associated with an increase of six drinks consumed during the past 30 days, while exposures of 300 or more adstock units were associated with an increase of 55.7 drinks” (Chedekel). There is a clear correlation between television viewing and alcohol consumption. To combat this, children and young adults should limit their time watching television. Timothy Naimi, an SPH associate professor of community health sciences and of medicine at BU School of Medicine recommends that “children and teenagers spend a limited amount of time each day in front of a ‘screen’- whether a TV, computer, or phone” (Chedekel). With the current lack of alcohol advertising restrictions, immediate action can be taken by any parent or young adult. Limiting media time for young Americans could result in less exposure to alcohol advertisements and thus, protecting the health of the younger generation.

The next solution may not be as immediate as limiting television time, but it may yield more positive implications. When watching the TV, one often sees advertisements on the dangers of tobacco and how everyday people have been negatively affected by it. In fact, this marketing campaign has had a large amount of success. In the first year of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign, 1.6 million smokers were pushed to try and quit and “more than 100,000 succeeded” (Tobacco). The CDC’s education media campaign has positively affected the lives of millions of Americans and hopes to influence many more. However, a large campaign like this appears to be absent in regards to alcohol. Alcohol Justice found that “counter-ads against alcohol are infrequently broadcast, of poorer quality due to lack of funding and placed at unappealing time slots” (Alcohol).  With the success that anti-smoking campaigns have had on tobacco abuse, imagine what could be done if a prominent educational media campaign was created to counter alcohol abuse among young adults and minors? Whether it be the CDC or a private organization, an educational marketing campaign should be designed to counter the negative influence of alcohol advertisements. By doing so, young American lives could be saved and kept healthy. While this solution may require time and work, it can be influenced by everyday Americans voicing their concerns to local lawmakers, the CDC, and social media. Although both of these solutions are different, they bring us closer to the goal of keeping young adults and minors safe from alcohol abuse and the dangers of binge/underage drinking.

Alcohol companies have a significant presence in the television advertising space. These companies do little to promote responsible behavior and have been proven to encourage binge drinking and underage drinking among young adults and minors. Luckily, consumers can challenge this problem by limiting the amount of time that they watch TV and pushing for an educational marketing campaign to negate the presence of alcohol commercials. If alcohol companies maintain their current rate of advertising without any challenge, thousands of young adults and minors will suffer the consequences of these ads. It is up to the consumers, the everyday Americans, who can take charge and stand up for the younger generation. We can take an active role in this fight by taking hold of these solutions and instituting them in our everyday lives. The future of our young adults and minors, rest in our hands.

By:

Ballard Suiter, Nicholas Weaver, and Satchel Burton