Monday, March 20, 2017

Alcohol in the Media

With the Super Bowl just last month, many recall their favorite commercials that were produced specifically for this event. According to an article in Forbes, Super Bowl ads last year were selling for up to $5 million each, up 11% from the previous year. Many industries will pay this high cost to spotlight their product for 30 seconds during this game.

Alcohol companies are a big part of this, and their messages reach all members of the TV audience, from adults to young children. Alcohol commercials from Super Bowls in the past have varied greatly, with a wide range of messages, but all promote the goodness of alcohol consumption.

Whether it's with humor, a fun party, pretty women, or a cute animal, the end message with all of these ads is that alcohol makes things better and is good. But what kind of message is this sending to young children, or even teens?

According to a fact sheet published by Johns Hopkins' Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, "A national study published in January 2006 concluded that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth." The report goes on to say, "Specifically, for each additional ad a young person saw (above the monthly youth average of 23), he or she drank 1% more."

What do you think of alcohol advertisements and their effect on youth? Let us know in the comment section.

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