The marketing of alcoholic beverages takes a variety of approaches, from the naming of Coors Field here in Denver, to music-pounding, high-fiving TV commercials and to print advertisements suggesting that certain drinks can make people more attractive. In fact, those print ads have come under scrutiny recently from researchers who say people between ages 18 and 20 are those who get the most exposure to magazine ads for alcoholic beverages.
The ads they are most heavily exposed to are for products that are, perhaps not coincidentally, popular among underage consumers. The results of the research are in this month’s issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The head of the study group says the research “suggests a relationship” between magazine ad exposure and the “consumption of specific brands.” Unsurprisingly, people in this 18-to-20 age group are among those who are most likely to drink alcohol to excess.
He said the study is another piece of evidence indicating that alcohol marketing is linked to alcohol consumption.
While that news is unlikely to surprise many parents of teens and young adults, it does indicate that the U.S. code for alcohol advertising might not be working. The code says ads for alcohol products can only be published in magazines that have a readership in which less than 30 percent are under 21.
The result of the marketing, ad exposure and consumption is, for many parents, a late-night call from their child who has been arrested for underage DUI. The parents later make a call of their own, to an attorney who can help protect the rights and futures of their children.
Source: Medical News Today, “Underage drinkers are ‘targeted’ by alcohol ads in magazines,” July 8, 2014