Alcohol Advertising and Youth
Research clearly indicates that, in addition to parents and peers, alcohol advertising and marketing have a
significant impact on youth decisions to drink.
“While many factors may influence an underage person’s drinking decisions, including among other things
parents, peers and the media, there is reason to believe that advertising also plays a role.” (Federal Trade
Commission, Self Regulation in the Alcohol Industry, 1999)1
Parents and peers have a large impact on youth decisions to drink. However, research clearly indicates that
alcohol advertising and marketing also have a significant impact by influencing the attitudes of parents and
peers and helping to create an environment that promotes underage drinking.
• A study on alcohol advertising in magazines from 1997 to 2001 found that the number of beer and distilled
spirits ads tended to increase with a magazine’s youth readership. For every 1 million underage readers
ages 12-19 in a magazine, researchers generally found 1.6 times more beer advertisements and 1.3 times
more distilled spirits advertisements.2
• A recent study of eighth-graders showed that those with greater exposure to alcohol advertisements in
magazines, on television, and at sporting and music events were more aware of the advertising and more
likely to remember the advertisements they had seen.3
• A study of 12-year-olds found that children who were more aware of beer advertising held more favorable
views on drinking and expressed an intention to drink more often as adults than did children who were less
knowledgeable about the ads.4
• A federally-funded study of 1,000 young people found that exposure to and liking of alcohol advertisements
affects whether young people will drink alcohol.5
• A recent economic analysis assessed the effects of alcohol advertising on youth drinking behaviors by
comparing federally reported levels of youth drinking with detailed reports on alcohol advertising in local
markets during the same years. The analysis concluded that a complete ban on alcohol advertising could
reduce monthly levels of youth drinking by 24% and youth binge drinking by about 42%. 6
• A 1996 study of children ages nine to 11 found that children were more familiar with Budweiser’s television
frogs than Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger, the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, or Smokey the Bear. 7
• The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth found that, in 2001, youth in the United States were 93 times
more likely to see an ad promoting alcohol than an industry ad discouraging underage drinking. 8 In fact,
compared to underage youth, adults age 21 and over were more than twice as likely to see advertising
discouraging underage drinking.9
• A USA Today survey found that teens say ads have a greater influence on their desire to drink in general
than on their desire to buy a particular brand of alcohol. 10
• Eighty percent of general public respondents in a poll by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
believed “that alcohol advertising influences youth to drink alcoholic beverages.” 11 Another poll, done for an
alcohol-industry-funded organization called the Century Council, found that 73% of the public believes that
“alcohol advertising is a major contributor to underage drinking.”12
• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) recognizes the influence advertising can have on youth:
“[T]he impact of advertising on radio and television audiences, particularly kids, cannot be overstated. Clever
jingles, flashy lights, fast talking, and quick pacing, all contribute to the message of commercials.” 13
• $1.9 billion was spent on alcohol advertising in measured media (television, radio, print, outdoor, major
newspapers and Sunday supplements) in 2002.14 Working from alcohol company documents submitted to
them, the Federal Trade Commission estimated in 1999 that the alcohol industry's total expenditures to
promote alcohol (including through sponsorship, Internet advertising, point-of-sale materials, product
placement, brand-logoed items and other means) were three or more times its expenditures for measured
media advertising.15 This would mean that the alcohol industry spent a total of $5.7 billion or more on
advertising and promotion in 2002.
Updated November 2003
Alcohol Advertising And Youth
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By the time teenagers reach driving age they will have seen 75,000 ads
for alcohol (CQ Researcher, 1992).
Results from one study indicate that beer advertisements are a
significant predictor of an adolescent's knowledge, preference, and
loyalty for beer brands, as well as current drinking behavior and
intentions to drink (Gentile, 2001).
Television advertising changes attitudes about drinking. Young people
report more positive feelings about drinking and their own likelihood
to drink after viewing alcohol ads (Austin, 1994; Grube, 1994).
Fifty-six percent of students in grades 5 through 12 say that alcohol
advertising encourages them to drink (American Academy of
Pediatrics, 2001).
American children view 2,000 beer and wine commercials per year
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 1995).
The alcohol industry spends $2 billion per year on all media
advertising (Strasburger, 1999).
The beer brewing industry itself spent more than $770 million on
television ads and $15 million on radio ads in 2000 (Center for Science
in the Public Interest, 2002).
Underage drinking
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10 million people ages 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month
prior to a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. Of this number almost 7 million were binge drinkers
and another 2 million, heavy drinkers (National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse, 2001).
The average age of first alcohol use is 13.1 (American Academy of
Pediatrics, 2001).
In 1999, 52% of 8th graders and 80% of high school seniors reported
using alcohol, with 31% of 12th graders reporting heavy drinking (5 or
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more drinks in a row at least once during the previous 2 weeks
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001).
Youth who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more
likely to develop alcoholism at some point in their lives, than those
who begin drinking at 21 (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, 1998).
Between 2000 and 2001 daily alcohol use among high school seniors
increased 25%, from 2.9 percent to 3.6 percent (Monitoring the Future
Study, 2001).
According to the American Medical Association underage drinking:
o Is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes - a
leading cause of death.
o Contributes to youth suicides, fatal injuries and homicides - the
next three leading causes of death after auto accidents.
o Linked to two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of
teens and college students.
o Is a major factor in unprotected sex among adolescents.
(American Medical Association, 2001)
Alcohol Advertising on Television
Members of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. had been following a
voluntary ban on hard liquor advertising on radio since 1936 and television
since 1948. The ban was broken in 1996. Since then expenditures for
alcohol advertising have increased dramatically, even though liquor
commercials were mainly found only on cable channels. However, in the
winter of 2002 the first major network, NBC, indicated that it would start
accepting hard liquor advertisements on shows airing after 9 P.M.. In a poll
conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (2001, December)
68% of the respondents opposed NBC's change of policy and 70% agreed
that it was dangerous to have liquor ads on television because young people
will be exposed to liquor. Heeding public pressure, NBC cancelled its plans
in March, 2002.
The Federal Trade Commission (1999) reported that:
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Alcohol companies placed their product in 233 motion pictures and in
one or more episodes of 181 different television series in 1997-98. In
the fifteen shows most popular with teens, eight had alcohol product
placements.
Alcohol placement has also occurred in PG and PG 13 movies where
the primary audience included a sizable number of teens and children.
Alcoholic beverage companies have created over a hundred internet
web sites to advertise and promote their products. Many of these sites
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have a strong appeal to youth and can include interactive games and
contests.
Other forms of promotion include sponsorships of musical and sporting
events, displays at retail outlets, branded t-shirts, hats, etc.
Sources
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American Academy of Pediatrics (1995
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Underage youth ages 12 to 20 were 128 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad
on television than an alcohol company-sponsored responsibility ad in 2002. They were
400 times more likely to see a product ad than an ad discouraging underage drinking and
188 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad than one against drinking and
driving. (CAMY, 2004)
Recent advertising expenditures in the United States for beer, wine, and liquor combined
($1.6 billion) totaled over 10 times the amount spent on milk ads ($137.7 million).
(National Research Council Institute of Medicine, 2003 and Agricultural Marketing
Service, 2002)
The median age at which children begin drinking is 15.7 years old. (SAMHSA, 2003)
The availability of alcohol within a community can influence drinking rates and related
problems (Toomey and Wagenaar, 2000)
49 percent of children live in homes with no set rules about TV watching. (Roberts, et al,
1999)
Studies show that alcohol advertising may predispose young people to drinking. As a
result, efforts to prevent drinking and driving problems among young people should give
attention to countering the potential effects of alcohol advertising. (Casswell and Zhang
1998; Grube and Wallack 1994; Wyllie et al. 1998)
In 2000, the alcohol industry spent $1.42 billion on advertising through television, radio,
print, and outdoor advertisements. (Garfield, Chung, and Rathouz, 2003)
Young people view approximately 20,000 commercials each year, of which nearly 2,000
are for beer and wine. (Strasburger & Donnerstein, 1999)
Each year, college students spend approximately $5.5 billion on alcohol- more than they
spend on soft drinks, milk, juice, tea, coffee and books combined. (Drug Strategies, 1999)
More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop
alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. (Grant, B.F et al,
1997)
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An early age of drinking onset is associated with alcohol-related violence not only among
persons under age 21 but among adults as well. (Hingson et al, 2001)
The highest prevalence of both binge and heavy drinking in 2000 was for young adults
aged 18 to 25, with the peak rate occurring at age 21. (SAMHSA, 2000)
Approximately one fifth (20.5 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge
drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to an alcohol use survey. (SAMHSA, 2001)
About 10.1 million people age 12 to 20 years reported current use of alcohol in 2001 28.5 percent of this age group for whom alcohol is an illicit substance. Of these, nearly
6.8 million or 19 percent were binge drinkers and 2.1 million or 6 percent were heavy
drinkers. (SAMHSA, 2001)
The median age at which children begin drinking is 15.7 years old. (SAMHSA, 2003)
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Students who attended schools with high rates of heavy drinking experienced a greater
number of secondhand effects, including disruption of sleep or studies; property damage;
and verbal, physical, or sexual violence. (Wechsler et al, 2002)
High school binge drinking is a major predictor of binge drinking in college. (Wechsler et
al, 2002)
The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was more than $53
billion per year in 1998 dollars. (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1999)
More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop
alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. (Grant, B.F et al,
1997)
Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence
than those who begin drinking at age 21. (NIAAA, 1997)
People who begin drinking before age 14 are seven times more likely than those who
began drinking after age 21 to report being in a motor vehicle crash because of their
drinking. (Hingson, et al, 2001)
People who begin drinking before age 14 are three times more likely than those who
began drinking after age 21 to report ever driving after drinking too much and four times
more likely to report doing so in the past year. (Hingson, et al, 2001)
Those who have their first drink prior to age 19 are significantly more likely to become
alcohol dependent, to drive after drinking, and to sustain injuries that required medical
attention than those who did not drink before age 19. Those who first drank at younger
ages believe they could consume more drinks and still drive safely and legally. (Hingson,
et al, 2003)
High school students who use alcohol or other substances are five times more likely than
other students to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is not
important. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1998)
People who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop
alcohol dependence than those who wait until age 21. Each additional year of delayed
drinking onset reduces the probability of alcohol dependence by 14 percent. (Grant,
1998)
In 2002, 29 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes had been
drinking. Twenty-four percent were intoxicated. (NHTSA, 2003)
It is estimated that at least 2/3 of alcohol outlets sell to underage purchasers without
asking for identification. (Department of Health and Human Services, 1997)