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ALCOHOL ADVERTISING & INJURY |
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Related Links: Alcohol Advertising: Fact Sheet Alcohol Advertising: Literature Review As many researchers have shown, most alcohol advertising seeks to associate drinking with possessing desirable qualities or experiencing pleasure. Advertising attempts to make alcohol an integral part of the good life, the American dream, proper masculinity, and other compelling themes in American culture. Alcohol advertising thus helps create an environment in which alcohol consumption and over-consumption are normal activities. Moreover, some advertisers, particularly beer advertisers, may encourage underage drinking by presenting images that appeal to youth. The alcohol industry has also stepped up its advertising aimed at communities of color as it seeks to increase its market among these groups. Most studies of alcohol advertising link greater exposure to or awareness of advertising to heavier or more frequent drinking among adults and, among children, to more favorable attitudes toward drinking and a greater intention to drink as adults. Many policy advocates thus focus prevention efforts on the alcohol industry's powerful use of media to create, sustain, and expand markets for its products. It seems likely that decreasing exposure to alcohol advertising--or increasing advertising that counters alcohol's appeal--will weaken the strong link that advertising makes between drinking and possessing desirable qualities, thus decreasing consumption and the injury and violence associated with it.
Alcohol advertising and motor vehicle fatalities. Henry Saffer, 1997. Survey and experimental research on effects of alcohol advertising. Charles K. Atkin. 1995. Television alcohol commercials and under-age drinking. P.P. Aitken. 1989. The effects of alcohol advertising. Charles K. Atkin and Martin Block.1984.
Type of document: non-peer-reviewed research report Key words: youth, advertising Summary: This study compared children's recall of the Budweiser frogs' slogan with recall of the slogans of other cartoon characters. It found that more children between the ages of 9 and 11 correctly identified the Budweiser frogs' slogan (73%) than the slogan of Tony the Tiger (57%), Smokey Bear (43%), or the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (39%). Only Bugs Bunny's slogan topped the frogs' in recognition (80%). Eighty-one percent of the children identified beer as the product the Budweiser frogs promote. More boys than girls correctly identified both the slogan and the product. The study surveyed 221 students in seven schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each student was interviewed privately and shown a still color photo of each cartoon character and asked to state both the character's slogan and, where appropriate, the product the character promotes. The study was designed to test a way to determine the degree to which children notice beer ads. Anheuser-Busch had previously claimed that no method for doing so existed. Practical implications: The study indicates that alcohol advertising that uses cartoon characters-in particular, the Budweiser frogs-- has a special appeal for children. Cartoon characters that mainly appear in Saturday morning programs aimed at children do not generate the same level of recall as cartoon characters that appear in programs supposedly targeted at adults. The alcohol industry should reduce or eliminate promotions that appeal to children.
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