Cutting Back Alcohol Ads

Throughout my blog, I have talked positively about product placement and shared product stories that are exciting for the media world. Today, however, I found an article about how an industry is being urged to cut back on advertisements and exposure. What industry and product might I be talking about? Alcohol.

The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, is strongly suggesting that alcoholic beverage companies tone down the amount of advertisements they have on college campuses and around teens. He wants the companies to get rid of as many outdoor advertisements as they can, and also try to stop using college newspapers for advertising. Moritsugu also mentioned that colleges and universities should try to get rid of alcohol-sponsored events.

I thought this was really interesting; I wonder if the commercials during the Bowl games and basketball games will exclude advertisements that involve alcohol. I'm not sure how marketers will try to get around this suggestion, seeing as a large part of the college sports audience is made up of the alcohol companies' target audience. I'm going to be looking for articles and watch a few basketball games to see if I notice an effort that the schools and marketers are making to limit the amount of alcohol-related advertisements.

Even though there are statistics that are showing that alcohol consumption among teens is dropping, Moritsugu is still worried about the amount of alcohol use in colleges and universities. Moritsugu is trying to avoid creating new laws, which is why he is asking the media and marketers to get on his side. Coming straight out of the article: "The entertainment and media industries should be sure movies, TV shows and video games do not 'glamorize underage alcohol use,' the report says. They should also avoid 'gratuitous portrayals of alcohol abuse in films and TV shows in which children are a major audience.'"

I am very curious to see how marketers and advertisers will adjust to this new "recommendation" from the Surgeon General. Marketing alcohol is already a complex business with so many things to consider. I'm interested in seeing how this may affect alcohol sales.

Read the article at http://adage.com/article?article_id=115414