The Magazine Made Me Do It!

I was on duty the night I had received the call from the hotel manager of the Best

Western that a large party had been broken up in one of the hotel’s rooms. I learned that several

of my soldiers were involved in the party, all of which were under the legal drinking age. When

I arrived at the Best Western hotel in downtown Sierra Vista, Arizona I found a scene that is

reminiscent of the well known movie National Lampoon’s Animal House; beer bottles, liquor

bottles, plastic cups, and pizza boxes piled on every flat surface and even on the floor of the hotel

room. What I saw on the bed farthest from the door of the hotel room reminded me of alcohol

ads I had seen on hundreds of magazine pages; a boy holding a bottle of alcohol surrounded by

three half dressed girls, two of which who were soldiers under my supervision. Is this a typical

behavior of underage minors over taken by their need to declare their own will during their first

time away from overbearing parents? Or is this behavior caused by the alcohol industry’s

cunning advertisements strategically placed in magazines and on television viewed in large

quantities by the younger generations of America? I would argue that alcohol advertising is one

of the primary causes in the rising consumption of alcohol among underage Americans.

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University released a study

in April of 2004 finding that “the total number of alcohol ads on network, local and cable

television increased 39 percent from 2001 to 2002. Youths ages 12-20 were more likely, on a per

capita basis, to see ads than adults” (“Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising” 5). Magazines

such as Stuff Magazine, GQ, FHM, and MAXIM are popular among teens and young adults and

are riddled with alcohol ads portraying young men and women engaged in social parties and

sexually charged acts. The same study conducted by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and

Youth found that:

Teen programming is filled with alcohol advertising. All 15 of the television shows most

popular with teens ages 12-17 had alcohol ads. Throughout 2002, alcohol companies

placed 5,085 ads on programs such as Survivor, Fear Factor and That 70s Show.
 Spending on these shows increased 60 percent over 2001. (“Youth Exposure to Alcohol

Advertising” 5)

Over half of the spending for advertisement of alcohol was put into magazines with a higher

volume of underage readers in comparison to magazines with a more adult audience (“Alcohol

Advertising in Magazines” 5).

Even though teens and young children are bombarded by alcohol advertisements, this is

not the only reason that underage drinking is on the rise. Take a look at the image to the right,

what young child would not be able to recognize the video game controller for the Nintendo

Game Cube attached to the two beer bottles? What thoughts or feelings might go through a

child’s mind when seeing this advertisement? Alcohol advertisements with images that children

and teenagers can associate with may increase the likelihood that underage viewers will respond

to those advertisements. Studies have shown that “children and adolescents respond positively to

animals, humor, and musical elements featured in television

beer advertisements. Elementary school children were

particularly fond of the animal characters” (Chen, Grube,

Bersamin, Waiters, and Keefe 554). Anyone growing up

during the late 1980’s can remember the fictional dog known as

Spud McKenzie created as a marketing campaign for Bud

Light beer. Due to the popularity of the ads many attacks

sprung up claiming that Anheuser-Busch was targeting children

with the loveable dog. In the mid-1990’s came the Budweiser Frogs, a marketing campaign,

again by Anheuser-Busch, which featured three talking frogs that made their appearance during

the 1995 Super Bowl game. Both marketing campaigns did not limit themselves to television

and magazine ads. Spud McKenzie and the Budweiser Frogs made their way to T-shirts, beach

towels, accessories, glassware, and sporting goods, parents could even purchase their children

stuffed Spud McKenzie toys. Although it is unlikely that young children, particularly between
the ages of 6 – 12, are consuming alcohol due to advertising, the advertising is predisposing

young children to the idea of alcohol consumption. It is possible that a young teenager sees his

or her parents consuming a Bud Light and correlates that with the images of the Spud McKenzie

which may lead to the idea that alcohol is a good thing for teenagers. In short, studies have

shown that a correlation can be made between the attractiveness of alcohol ads and the overall

consumption of alcohol by underage drinkers (Chen, Grube, Bersamin, Waiters, and Keefe 553-

555).

It is a commonly known fact that sex sells, this is particularly true of alcohol. I can’t

count how many soldiers I’ve talked to who thought that alcohol

would help them hook up. With the extremely sexually charged

atmosphere that we live in today, teenagers are much more likely

to consume alcohol if they believe that it will bring them sexual

success. The advertisement seen to the left with the phrase “GET

IT STARTED” suggests to the viewer that drinking Bud Light is

the key to starting a time of sexual activities. In today’s society

youth are pressured to conform to the popular images of beautiful men and women seen in

magazines, television, and on larger than life billboards. Young men and women often “desire to

emulate the people and lifestyle(s) featured in the advertisements” seen in magazines and

television (Chen, Grube, Bersamin, Waiters, and Keefe 554). In an issue brief published by the

Institute for Public Strategies advertisements of alcohol “routinely portray women as less than

fully human — as objects, toys, rewards, part of the product being sold. In these cases the

product seems to be not just the beer or liquor, but also the sexual accessibility of women” (2).

Certainly there are many more factors that contribute the continuous consumption of

alcohol among underage Americans. I remember in my early 20’s when my family and I would

take trips to Mexico for the Christmas season and my parents would allow my underage sister to

consume alcohol. Did these family vacations contribute to her desire to consume alcohol at an
early age? Of course, but the alcohol industry’s advertising campaigns played a large part in my

sister’s desire to initially try her first alcoholic beverage. It is undeniable that the advertisement

of alcohol has helped to increase the consumption of alcohol among young people.
 Works Cited

“Alcohol Advertising in Magazines Continues to Overexpose Youth.” Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Weekly 18 April 2005: 5.

“Advocating Responsibility in Sex-Themed Alcohol Ads.” Institute for Public Strategies June

2002. 29 March 2009 <http://www.publicstrategies.org/pdfs/sdcw_june_02_ads.pdf>

Bud Light. Advertisement. Youthinaction.org. 29 March 2009

<http://www.youthinaction.org/target/targetedMedia/#aa>

Chen, Meng-Jinn, et al. “Alcohol Advertising: What Makes it Attractive to Youth?” Journal of

Health Communication 10 (2005): 533-65.

Heineken Beer. Advertisement. Youthinaction.org. 29 March 2009

<http://www.youthinaction.org/target/targetedMedia/#aa>

“Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising Grows Substantially.” Alcohol & Drug Abuse Weekly

10 May 2004: 5-6.

Outline

Thesis Statement: Alcohol advertising is one of the primary causes in the rising consumption of
alcohol among underage Americans.
I. Introduction
A. Personal experience with underage drinking
B. Two questions posed for different view points
II. Alcohol ads increased during 2001-2002.
III. Alcohol ads contain images likable to children
A. Image of Nintendo Game Cube controller
B. Examples of different beer marketing campaigns
IV. Sex in alcohol advertising
A. Image of a couple kissing with beer in hands
B. Statement published by Institute of Public Strategies
V. Conclusion