Alcohol, Advertising, and Youth
In 2003, alcohol beverage producers adopted a standard requiring
that at least 70 percent of an alcohol advertisement’s audience
should consist of adults ages 21 and older. That was an increase
of 40 percent over the previous standard.
The Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) now calls for
producers to limit alcohol ads even more to media with audiences
of at least 85 percent adults aged 21 or older.
However, research on alcohol ads in magazines and their readership
has clearly demonstrated that limiting alcohol ads to magazines
with 85 percent audience aged 21 or older would not reduce exposure
of young people to such ads. In the words of economist Dr. Jon P.
Nelson of Pennsylvania State University, such a requirement
would prohibit alcohol ads in many major magazines with large
numbers of adult readers. But because the relationship between
alcohol advertising and youth readership is non-existent, the
85 percent criterion would create costs for adults (who are readers)
without any obvious benefits in terms of reductions in exposure
of youth to images of alcohol consumption. 1
In addition, research around the world for decades by governments,
health agencies and universities has demonstrated no causal relationship
between viewing alcohol ads and the decision to begin drinking alcoholic
beverages. In other words, seeing alcohol ads doesn’t cause
young people to begin drinking. 2
Alcoholic beverage producers continue to advertise because, if
effective, it can increase a brand’s share of total alcohol
sales, which occurs at the expense of competitors, who lose sales
and market share. 3
References
- 1. Nelson, Jon P. Advertising,
alcohol, and youth: Is the alcoholic beverage industry targeting
minors with magazine ads? Regulation, 2005, 28(2),
Advertising & Media section.
- 2. See, for example, Alcohol
Advertising (https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/effects-of-alcohol-advertising-on-drinking/
- 3. This is explained in
Alcohol Advertising (https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/effects-of-alcohol-advertising-on-drinking/
)
Readings
- Bloomberg News, FTC Says Alcohol Type Not Aimed at Minors. Los
Angeles Times (June 5, 2002).
- Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Out of Control: Alcohol
Advertising Taking Aim at America’s Youth. Washington,
DC: Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, 2002. [This and the
other CAMY reports have been criticized for their lack of scientific
peer review and for their serious logical and methodological inadequacies.]
*
-
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Television: Alcohol‘s
Vast Adland. Washington, DC: Center on Alcohol Marketing and
Youth, 2002. [This and the other CAMY reports have been criticized
for their lack of scientific peer review and for their serious logical
and methodological inadequacies.] *
-
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Overexposed: Youth as
a Target of Alcohol Advertising in Magazines. Washington, DC:
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, 2002. [This and the other
CAMY reports have been criticized for their lack of scientific peer
review and for their serious logical and methodological inadequacies.]
*
-
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Radio Daze: Alcohol Ads
Tune in Underage Youth. Washington, DC: Center on Alcohol Marketing
and Youth, 2003. [This and the other CAMY reports have been
criticized for their lack of scientific peer review and for their
serious logical and methodological inadequacies.] *
-
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Exposure of African-American
Youth to Alcohol Advertising. Washington, DC: Center on Alcohol
Marketing and Youth, 2003. [This and the other CAMY reports
have been criticized for their lack of scientific peer review and
for their serious logical and methodological inadequacies.] *
- Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Exposure of Hispanic
Youth to Alcohol Advertising. Washington, DC: Center on Alcohol
Marketing and Youth, 2003. [This and the other CAMY reports
have been criticized for their lack of scientific peer review and
for their serious logical and methodological inadequacies.] *
- Hacker, George, R. Collins and Michael Jacobson. Marketing
Booze to Blacks. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the
Public Interest, 1987 *
- Chafetz, Morris E. Television Liquor Ads will not Promote Underage
Drinking. In: Scott, Barbour (ed.) Alcohol, Opposing Viewpoints.
San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998. pp. 75-77.
- Connolly, G. M., Casswell, S., Zhang, J-F., and Silva, P. A. Alcohol
in the mass media and drinking by adolescents: A longitudinal study.
Addiction, 1994, 89, 1255-1263.
- Federal Trade Commission. Alcohol Marketing and Advertising:
A Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission,
2003.
- Fisher, Joseph C. Advertising, Alcohol Consumption, and Abuse:
A Worldwide Survey. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993, p.
150.
- Frankena, M., Cohen, M., Daniel, T., Ehrlich, L., Greenspun, N.,
and Kelman, D. Alcohol Advertising, Consumption and Abuse. In: Federal
Trade Commission. Recommendations of the Staff of the Federal
Trade Commission: Omnibus Petition for Regulation of Unfair and
Deceptive Alcoholic Beverage Marketing Practices, Docket No. 209-46.
Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission, 1985.
-
Goetz, D. Liquor industry gets stricter on advertising. Courier-Journal
(Louisville, KY), 9-10-03.
- Jacobson, Michael, Robert Atkins and George Hacker. The Booze
Merchants: the Inebriating of America. Washington, DC: Center
for Science in the Public Interest, 1983. [In this book CSPI
began using the theme that alcohol marketing “targets kids.”]
*
- Maxwell, B., and Michael Jacobson. Marketing Disease to Hispanics:
Alcohol.... Washington, DC: Center for Science in he Public
Interest, 1989.
- Jernigan, David. Selling booze to our babies. Albuquerque Tribune
Online, 8-28-03. [Mr. Jernigan has been employed by the
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY).] *
- Melillo, W. FTC: Ads for "Alcopops" Not Aimed at Teens,
Adweek (June 6, 2002)
- Nelson, Jon P. Advertising, alcohol, and youth: Is the alcoholic
beverage industry targeting minors with magazine ads? Regulation,
2005, 28(2), Advertising and Media section.
- Nelson, Jon P. Beer advertising and marketing update: Structure,
conduct, and social costs. Review of Industrial Organization,
2005, 26(3).
- Nelson, Jon P. Broadcast Advertising and U. S. Demand for Alcoholic
Beverages. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University,
1977.
-
Nelson, Jon P. and Moran, J. R. Advertising and U. S. alcoholic
beverage demand: a growth-accounting analysis. Empirical Economics,
1995, 22, 1-20.
- Nelson, Jon P and Young, D.J. Meta-Analysis of Alcohol Advertising
Bans: Cumulative Econometric Estimates of Regulatory Effects. Pennsylvania
State University and Montana State University, January, 2003.
- Ogbourne, A. C., and Smart, R. G. Will restrictions on alcohol advertising reduce alcohol consumption? The British Journal
of Addiction, 1980, 75, 296-298.
- Sanders, James. Alcohol Advertisements Do Not Encourage Alcohol
Abuse Among Teens. In: Wekesser, Carol (ed.) Alcoholism.
San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1994. Pp. 132-135, p. 133.
- Shoup, Harold, and Dobday, Christine. Alcohol Advertising Restrictions
without Due Cause. In: Engs, Ruth C. (ed.) Controversies in
the Addictions Field. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1990. Pp.
130-135.
- Smart, Reginald G. Does alcohol advertising affect overall consumption?
A review of empirical studies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol,
1988, 49, 314-323.
-
Smart, Reginald G. The Impact of Prevention Measures: An Examination
of Research Findings. In: Institute of Medicine. Legislative
Approaches to Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems: An Inter-American
Workshop - Proceedings. Washington, DC: National Academy Press,
1982. Pp. 224-246.
-
Smart, R. G., and Cutler, R. E. The alcohol advertising ban in British
Columbia: Problems and effects on beverage consumption. The
British Journal of Addiction. 1976, 7, 13-21.
- Snyder, Susan. Ruling could put alcohol ads back in college newspapers.
A federal court overturned a Pa. law that banned paid alcohol ads.
Schools and their student papers are assessing the impact. Philadelphia
Inquirer, August 4, 2004.
-
Taylor, Patricia. Alcohol Advertisements Encourage Alcohol Abuse.
In: Wekesser, Carol (ed.) Alcoholism. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven
Press, 1994. Pp. 111-121, p. 112. (Chapter is from Taylor's testimony
before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Transportation
and Hazardous Materials, March 1, 1990.) [Ms. Taylor is former
Director of the Alcohol Policies Project of the Center for Science
in the Public Interest.] *
- Whitehead, P. Is Advertising Effective? Implications for Public
Health Policy. In: Rush, Brian, and Ogborne, Allan C. (Eds.) Evaluation
Research in the Canadian Addictions Field. Ottawa, Ontario:
Health and Welfare Canada, 1983. Pp. 32-33.
- * The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) and the
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) are both heavily
funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To learn more about
this powerful temperance-oriented foundation, visit http://www.alcoholfacts.org/RWJfoundation.html