Alcohol Policies Project

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Related Links:

Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV

 

Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth

 

The Marin Institute: Preventing Alcohol Problems

 

Monitoring the Future

 

National Survey on Drug Use and Health

 

PRIDE Surveys

 

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

 

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Beer Ads & Underage Youth

  • Youth who see more alcohol advertisements drink more, on average.1

  • Exposure to and enjoyment of alcohol ads influence alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems.2

  • Young teens who had greater knowledge of beer advertisements had more positive views of drinking and anticipated drinking alcohol as adults.3

  • High school students find beer commercials more visually appealing than public service announcements (PSAs).4

  • Watching television and sports contributes to youths' intentions to drink as adults.5

  • Media and alcohol advertisements significantly predict adolescents' knowledge of beer brands, preference for beer brands, current drinking behaviors, beer-brand loyalty, and intentions to drink.6

  • Evidence from other countries shows that complete bans on all alcohol advertising reduce alcohol misuse.7

  • In 2005, beer companies spent $897 million in television advertisements, $16 million in radio advertisements, and $109 million in magazine advertisements.8

  • Beer producers showed more ads during the 2002 NCAA basketball tournament (939) than during the Super Bowl, World Series, and NFL Monday Night Football combined (925 total).9

  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that alcohol ads reach large numbers of underage people even if the main target age is of legal age.10

  • In its 2003 report on flavored malt beverage (FMB) advertising, the FTC acknowledged that themes attractive to 21- to 29-year-olds are also popular with people under age 21.  In addition, the FTC recognized that alcohol ads for FMB products, which, because of their sweet taste, appeal to young consumers, may "spill over" to underage people.11

  • According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University:

    • From 2001 to 2005, youth (age 12-20) exposure to alcohol ads on television increased by 41%. Much of this increase is due to distilled spirit ads on cable: spending on such ads increased 23 times between 2001 and 2005
    • More than one-third of the total youth exposure came from placements on programming more likely to be viewed by youth than by adults.
    • In 2004, youth saw 15% more beer advertising, 10% more distilled spirits advertising and 33% more advertising for alcopops per capita than adults age 21 and over.
    • Only 3% of alcohol ads and less than 2% of alcohol advertising dollars in 2004 were spent in magazines exceeding the alcohol industry’s voluntary maximum of 30% for audiences under age 21.
    • A 2004 CAMY study on youth exposure to alcohol advertising on radio found that in the 15 largest radio markets, 48% of alcohol advertisements were placed on programming with disproportionately large youth audiences.

 

References:

1. Leslie B. Snyder, et al., “Effects of Alcohol Advertising Exposure on Drinking Among Youth,” Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 2006;160:18-24.

2. Casswell, S. & Zhang, J.F. (1998). Impact of liking for advertising and brand allegiance on drinking and alcohol-related aggression: a longitudinal study. Addiction. 93:1209-1217. Wyllie, A., Zhang, J.F. & Casswell, S. (1998). Positive responses to televised beer advertisements associated with drinking and problems reported by 18- to 29-year-olds. Addiction. 1998. 93:749-760.

3. Jernigan, D.H. (2002). Marketing alcohol to young people: Effects, responses, evaluations and prospects. Paper prepared for the WHO international technical meeting on Marketing and Promotion of Alcohol to Young People, Valencia, Spain. 7-9 May 2002.

4. Pinkleton, B.E., Austin, E.W. & Fujioka, Y. (2001). The relationship of perceived beer ad and PSA quality to high school students' alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 45(4):575.

5. Gentile, D.A., Walsh, D.A., Bloomgren, B.W., Atti, J.A. & Norman, J.A. (2001). Frogs sell beer: The effects of beer advertisements on adolescent drinking knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN. April 2001.  Also, see Slater, M.D., Rouner, D., Murphy, K., Beauvais, F., Van Leuven, J. & Rodriguez, M.D. (1996). Male adolescents' reactions to TV beer advertisements: the effects of sports content and programming context. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 57(4).

6. Gentile, D.A., Walsh, D.A., Bloomgren, B.W., Atti, J.A. & Norman, J.A. (2001). Frogs sell beer: The effects of beer advertisements on adolescent drinking knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN. April 2001.

7. Saffer, H. (1991). Alcohol advertising bans and alcohol abuse: An international perspective. Journal of Health Economics. 10:65-79.

8. Adams Beverage Group, Adams Beer Handbook 2006: 125.

9. Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (2003). Alcohol advertising on sports television, 2001 and 2002. Fact Sheet. Online: http://camy.org/factsheets/pdf/AlcoholAdvertisingSportsTelevision2001-2002.pdf

10.Evans, J.M. & Kelly, R.F. (1999). Self-Regulation in the alcohol industry. Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress. September 1999. Online: http://www.ftc.gov/reports/alcohol/alcoholreport.htm#Advertising%20Placement.

11. Federal Trade Commission. (2003). Alcohol Marketing and Advertising: A Report to Congress. Online: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/alcohol08report.pdf

Page updated June, 2007