Chapter 7: Prevention Alcohol Advertising: What Are the Effects? Does alcohol advertising increase the overall “media literacy” programs that encourage level of alcohol consumption? Does it predispose skepticism about advertisements. In general, children and adolescents to drinking? Although experimental studies based in laboratory settings these and other related questions have been raised provide little consistent evidence that alcohol by public health advocates and echoed in public advertising influences people’s drinking behaviors opinion surveys, the evidence from research to or beliefs about alcohol and its effects (Kohn date is mixed and far from conclusive. In general, and Smart 1984; Kohn et al. 1984; Lipsitz studies based on economic analyses suggest that 1993; Slater et al. 1997; Sobell et al. 1986). advertising does not increase overall consumption, In addition, econometric studies of market data but instead may encourage people to switch have produced mixed results, with most showing beverage brands or types. At the same time, no significant relationship between advertising research based on survey data indicates that and overall consumption levels (Fisher and Cook children who like alcohol advertisements intend 1995; Gius 1996; Goel and Morey 1995; Nelson to drink more frequently as adults. While these and Moran 1995). findings might offer some grounds for both reassurance and concern, the limitations of the Survey research of children and adolescents, how- research methods that have been used hinder the ever, provides some evidence of links between ability to draw firm conclusions about cause and alcohol advertising and greater intentions to effect in either case. drink, favorable beliefs about alcohol, and a greater likelihood of drinking (Austin and Meili In recent years, public health advocates have 1994; Austin and Nach-Ferguson 1995; Grube called for strict regulation or elimination of alco- 1995; Grube and Wallack 1994; Wyllie et al. hol advertising (Mosher 1994), and community- 1998a,b). Still, the survey study designs em- level action has focused on reducing local alcohol ployed thus far have not been able to establish advertising (Woodruff 1996). Particular attention whether, for example, the advertisements caused has been devoted to how alcohol advertising the beliefs and behaviors, or whether preexisting might affect young people (Atkin 1993) and to beliefs and behaviors led to an increased aware- the targeting of minority communities (Abramson ness of the advertisements. Media literacy 1992; Alaniz and Wilkes 1995; Scott et al. 1992). training may increase the ability of children A poll of public attitudes found that 57 percent and adolescents to offer counterarguments to of the public support prohibiting alcoholic bever- messages in alcohol advertisements (Austin and age advertisements on television, 64 percent Johnson 1997a,b; Slater et al. 1996a), but studies support advertising to counteract alcohol adver- have not yet measured whether these effects tisements, and 41 percent support prohibiting persist beyond a short term. sports sponsorship by the alcohol industry (Kaskutas 1993). The following is a review of the evidence, from each of these research areas, about the effects As described in this section, researchers have of alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption, examined the effects of alcohol advertising alcohol-related problems, and drinking-related through four main types of studies: experimental beliefs and attitudes. Studies have been drawn research in controlled settings; econometric from such diverse fields as drug and alcohol analyses, which apply economic research tech- studies, communications, psychology, sociology, niques; surveys; and intervention studies of marketing and advertising, and economics. 412 Alcohol Advertising: What Are the Effects? Background: The Frequency and Content with desirable outcomes, such as success, relax- of Advertising Messages ation, romance, and adventure (see, for example, Atkin and Block 1980; Strickland et al. 1982). Concerns about alcohol advertising stem at least in part from its pervasiveness. The alcohol Researchers have been particularly interested in industry spent $1.03 billion on alcohol advertis- the degree to which children and adolescents pay ing in 1996, with the expenditures concentrated attention to these commercials. In one survey of on television commercials and beer advertising fifth- and sixth-grade children, 59 percent of the (Besen 1997). Thus alcohol advertising, espe- children could correctly identify the brand of beer cially for beer, appears relatively frequently on being promoted from an edited, still photograph television. Moreover, this advertising tends to taken from a television commercial featuring appear most often during sports programming. Spuds McKenzie (Grube 1995). A vast majority While about one alcohol commercial appears in of the children (82 percent) in the same survey every 4 hours of prime-time fictional program- correctly matched the advertising slogan, “Spuds ming, one appears for every 25 minutes of McKenzie, the original party animal,” with programming for major professional sports Budweiser. (football, baseball, and basketball) and one for every 50 minutes of college sports programming Alcohol advertising with celebrity endorsers, (Grube 1993, 1995; Madden and Grube 1994). humor, animation, and rock music has been Overall, alcohol commercials make up 1.5 percent shown to be especially appealing to adolescents of all advertisements on prime-time television and (Atkin and Block 1983; Grube 1995). In 7.0 percent of all advertisements in sports addition, a study of adolescent boys confirmed programming. that they were particularly attracted to alcohol advertisements depicting sports (Slater et al. Standard commercials, however, are not the only 1996c, 1997). In one recent study, adolescents way in which alcohol is marketed on television. perceived that a significant number of alcohol Alcohol advertisers use other types of promotions advertisements portray people under 21 years embedded in sports programming to place their of age (Slater et al. 1996b). Other research has product names, slogans, and symbols before the indicated, however, that adolescents’ identification television viewing audience. Stadium signs, brief with the actors in the ads, or their desire to be sponsorships (such as “This half-time report is like the actors, is relatively low (Austin and Meili brought to you by…”), and on-site promotions 1994). Lifestyle- or image-oriented alcohol (such as product symbols and names on race cars) advertising has been shown to be more appealing are broadcast to the television viewing audience at to both adults and adolescents than is alcohol a rate of 3.3 per hour in major professional sports advertising that promotes only product quality programming, 3.0 per hour in other professional (Covell et al. 1994). sports programming, and 0.3 per hour in college sports programming (Grube 1993, 1995; Madden Besides the frequency of advertisements and their and Grube 1994). appeal to minors, concerns have also stemmed from advertising content that raises safety The engaging images and messages in alcohol questions. One study found that 33 percent commercials may add to the perception, among of television beer advertisements (16 of 49) critics, that advertisements contribute to increased contained scenes of people drinking and either drinking and drinking problems. What is engag- driving or engaging in water activities such as ing about the advertisements? Although no swimming or boating (Grube 1995). Moreover, recent research has investigated this question, messages to drink safely and moderately (such older content analysis studies of alcohol advertise- as “Know when to say when”) appear in less ments show that alcohol ads link drinking with than 1 percent of alcohol advertisements and highly valued personal attributes, such as sociabil- have been criticized for not clearly defining ity, elegance, and physical attractiveness, as well as responsible drinking (DeJong et al. 1992). 413 Chapter 7: Prevention Does Alcohol Advertising Affect Drinking or drinking beliefs of young people who were Drinking Problems? not regular drinkers (Lipsitz et al. 1993). The researcher showed three groups of fifth- and Earlier reviews have concluded that the effects of eighth-grade students videotapes containing alcohol advertising on people’s drinking beliefs 40 television commercials. One group saw and behaviors are limited, at best (Atkin 1995; videotapes containing 5 beer commercials Calfee and Scheraga 1994; Fisher 1993; Smart scattered among 35 other commercials. Another 1988). More recent research has not markedly group saw videotapes with the same five beer changed this conclusion. commercials plus two antidrinking public service announcements (PSA’s). The control group saw The two key questions that frame most of the videotapes with five soft-drink commercials in current studies are whether alcohol advertising place of the beer commercials. The remaining (1) increases overall drinking and drinking prob- 35 commercials were the same for all groups lems in the population or (2) increases drinking and advertised a variety of products, such as among children and adolescents or favorably foods and automobiles. predisposes them toward alcohol. A third impor- tant question about the possible effects of alcohol After viewing the videotapes, the children com- advertising on minority populations, who have pleted a memory task