Zero Alcohol Policy Briefing
AAI has in recent years been highlighting the marketing of zero alcohol products, in particular how they are used to circumvent advertising restrictions under Ireland’s Public Health Alcohol Act (PHAA).
May 8, 2023 - 2.3 MiB
AAI Submission to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
Alcohol Action Ireland submission to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Codes and Rules
Public Call for Comments and Observations
January 4, 2023 - 187.8 KiB
European longitudinal study on the relationship between adolescents’ alcohol marketing exposure and alcohol use
This is the first study to examine the effect of alcohol marketing exposure on adolescents’ drinking in a cross-national context. The aim was to examine reciprocal processes between exposure to a wide range of alcohol marketing types and adolescent drinking, controlled for non-alcohol branded media exposure.
August 8, 2016 - 578.9 KiB
Creating Customers - Finding new ways and places to sell alcohol, and new people to buy it
“Creating Customers" looks at the many ways alcohol producers find new ways and places to sell alcohol, and new people to sell it to — in the UK and around the world.
The report examines how alcohol is marketed to women (both as a calorie-laden indulgence and as an aid to weight loss), and to particular ethnic groups; and how big drinks companies are working to drive up consumption in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America where levels of drinking have traditionally been low. It also highlights how the industry undermines it own pledges to encourage the safe use of alcohol.
Whilst recognising that alcohol is a legitimate product, the report argues that the drinks industry’s business imperative to sell more alcohol means it is not well placed to advise us how to use it safely and healthily. It includes a series of recommendations for effective regulation of the alcohol industry and its marketing campaigns, and for ending the industry’s involvement formulating public policy and information on safe drinking.
December 17, 2014 - 1.8 MiB
Like, Comment, Share - Alcohol brand activity on Facebook
By the end of 2012 the top 20 alcohol brands (brands) in Australia had more than 2.5 million followers on their Facebook pages. During 2012 they posted more than 4500 items of content. Their followers interacted with that content by liking, sharing or commenting on it more than 2.3 million times. These figures suggest that Facebook is now a key player in the promotion of alcohol. The alcohol industry has developed an extensive, real-time, culturally embedded mode of branding on Facebook. The sophisticated use of social media by brands identified in this research raises seven issues that are currently not addressed by existing regulation.
May 2, 2014 - 3.8 MiB
Exposure of Children and Adolescents to Alcohol Marketing on Social Media Websites
In 2011, online marketing became the largest marketing channel in the UK, overtaking television for the first time. This study aimed to describe the exposure of children and young adults to alcohol marketing on social media websites in the UK. All five of the alcohol brands studied maintained a Facebook page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, with varying levels of user engagement. Facebook pages could not be accessed by an under-18 user, but in most cases YouTube content and Twitter content could be accessed by those of all ages. The authors concluded that the rise in online marketing of alcohol and the high use of social media websites by young people suggests that this is an area requiring further monitoring and regulation.
March 24, 2014 - 96.4 KiB
The role of alcohol in young adults’ identity creation on Facebook
Jemma Lennox, University of Glasgow, gave the talk, ‘You want people to say you have a fun life’: The role of alcohol in young adults’ identity creation on Facebook, as part of the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) ‘Alcohol Occasional’ seminars, which showcase new and innovative research on alcohol use. One of her findings was that although young people might believe that they are independently creating their identities online, this activity is highly influenced by others, including the alcohol industry, who promote drinking as central to the construction of a confident and outgoing social personality.
December 2, 2013 - 201.0 KiB
An Empirical Evaluation of the US Beer Institute’s Self-Regulation Code Governing the Content of Beer Advertising
In an evaluation of beer advertising code regulations aimed to encourage responsible advertising practices, new research from the American Journal of Public Health finds that content violations still occur and the current U.S. Beer Institute’s self-regulation process may be ineffective. Researchers reviewed all alcohol advertisements that aired during the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament games from 1999 to 2008. Current alcohol advertising is self-regulated by the alcohol industry in which the U.S. Beer Institute develops, updates and enforces the regulation codes. This study employed academic and public health professionals to rate the ads using both the 1997 and 2006 versions of the U.S. Beer Institute’s guidelines.
Results showed that when experts reviewed the advertisements, code violations were prevalent. Between 35 percent and 74 percent of the ads had violations, depending on the version of regulation codes used and the scoring method applied. Furthermore, ads with content violations were broadcast more often than those without. Ads that violated the codes most often included content that appealed to young people and content in which beer drinking was associated with social success and sexual attractiveness.
August 16, 2013 - 490.2 KiB
Eat, drink and gamble: marketing messages about 'risky' products in an Australian major sporting series
The authors, based at different universities in Australia, undertook this study to investigate the alcohol, gambling, and unhealthy food marketing strategies during a nationally televised, free to air, sporting series in Australia. A content analysis of one of Australia’s premier sport event, the 2012 State of Origin three-game series of rugby, identified 4.062 instances of alcohol marketing in 360 minutes of televised coverage. On average each of the three games included 1.353 instances of alcohol marketing, amounting to 66.29 minutes per game.
This study concludes that sport is increasingly used as “a vehicle for the promotion of range of 'risky consumption' products”. They argue that their study raises important ethical and health policy questions about the extent and impact of saturation and incidental marketing strategies on health and wellbeing, the transparency of embedded marketing strategies, and how these strategies may influence product consumption.
August 14, 2013 - 180.2 KiB
Children’s and young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising
This report from Ofcom sets out the findings of analysis examining trends in young people's exposure to television advertising of alcoholic products in the UK between 2007 and 2011. The analysis looks at trends among children aged 4-15 (including sub-groups of 4-9 and 10-15 year olds) and adults aged 16-24 (including the sub-group 16-17 year olds1). The report looks at how the amount of advertising seen by these demographic groups has changed and considers this in the context of changes in viewing habits and the volume of advertising shown on commercial television channels. The report shows that children in the UK saw an average of 3.7 alcohol adverts per week in 2010 and 3.2 in 2011, compared with 2.7 in 2000.
May 31, 2013 - 7.5 MiB