| Super Bowl Booze Ads Target Kids | |
|
Because the Super Bowl is seen by an estimated 40 percent of all children in the United States, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says the commercials violate Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
A coalition of consumer groups wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to oppose alcohol advertising that reaches millions of viewers under the legal drinking age, such as those broadcast during the Super Bowl.
The groups charged that Budweiser, Smirnoff Ice and other alcoholic-beverage advertisers ignore the recommendations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by airing commercials that reached as many as 33 million underage viewers during the game.
Recommended Action
The letter also asked President Bush and his Administration to:- examine the degree to which alcohol advertising inappropriately reaches and influences underage youth,
- Seek voluntary reforms or regulatory and legislative measures to reduce underage youths' exposure to alcohol advertising,
- Stop the expansion of distilled spirits advertising on radio and television, and
- Require broadcasters to balance advertising for alcoholic beverages with public health and safety messages about risks related to drinking and with effective messages to prevent underage alcohol consumption.
'Best Practices'
A 1999 review by the Federal Trade Commission of self-regulation and voluntary advertising guidelines in the alcohol industry led to a recommendation that alcohol advertisers should raise their current standards for avoiding underage audiences.The Commission also called on advertisers to adopt "best practices" policies, which include not advertising on TV shows and in other media with the largest underage audiences.
"Unfortunately," said Paula Kemp, Associate Director of National Families in Action in a news release, "underage people are very much the targets, intended or not, of broadcast ads for alcohol. Those clever and funny beer ads, which have been among the most entertaining Super Bowl commercials in previous games, are especially popular among teens."
"We have an epidemic of underage drinking in this country," said George Hacker, director of the Alcohol Policies Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Our children are at risk, and it makes no sense to allow alcohol marketers to increase the pressure on them to drink. We're asking President Bush to urge distillers to resume their voluntary ban on broadcast liquor ads, as President Clinton did in the past.
A Bipartisan Issue
"Preventing underage drinking should be a bipartisan issue that reflects President Bush's interests in the welfare of children and families. We hope he'll pressure beer and liquor companies to do a better job of steering their advertising away from youthful audiences, such as those watching the Super Bowl," Hacker said.Alcohol is the most used drug by young people in the United States, accounting for thousands of deaths each year. The economic cost of underage drinking exceeded $58 billion in 1998. Many young people begin drinking by age 13, and by the 12th grade in high school, 30 percent get drunk at least once a month.
Groups co-signing the letter to President Bush include the National PTA, the National High School Coaches Association, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of Children of Alcoholics, and the Pennsylvania Council of Churches.
To view the letter to President Bush, go to http://www.cspinet.org/booze/SuperBowl_Letter.htm.
Previous Features
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Friday | Saturday | Sunday
New posts to the Alcoholism forums:
Start a discussion on the Alcoholism: 12 Step Study forums
