“Guinness Amplify is merely another sales promotion dressed up as altruism, despite its claims about supporting emerging musicians in Ireland. This is about selling alcohol, not music,” said Suzanne Costello, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland.
“Arthur’s Day experienced a backlash amid the increasing recognition among the general public that it was merely a cynical marketing exercise. Guinness Amplify is more of the same, with our love of music now set to be used as the vehicle to promote alcohol products by aligning them with the vibrancy and talent of young Irish bands.
“It is particularly disappointing that Diageo should be using young bands to promote its products as most of these will no doubt fall into the 18 to 24-year-old age bracket, which the Health Research Board (HRB) last week revealed have the highest levels of both harmful and dependent drinking in Ireland, which is having a hugely detrimental impact on their physical and mental health.
“The OECD’s health statistics 2014, published this week, show that Ireland’s alcohol consumption still remains 2.5 litres of pure alcohol per capita above the OECD average, while the recent reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and HRB highlighted just how harmful our drinking patterns are, particularly the prevalence of binge drinking.”
