The profession, tarnished by the unethical actions of a few, could restore some moral integrity with a campaign to encourage more responsible drinking by all age groups, writes Patrick Kenny
The Prime Time programme on youth alcohol abuse aired on RTÉ last week has raised many questions that need serious consideration. One such question is how have we arrived at a situation where drinking to get drunk is the regular weekend sport of many teenagers?
Each sector of society needs to critically evaluate its own contribution to this substantial social problem.
Increased economic prosperity and the increase in the percentage of the population in the 18-30 age group are only part of the reason for the growth in alcohol consumption. These in no way explain the increase in binge drinking, female drunkenness and the general hedonism surrounding alcohol consumption by young people in our cities.
While there are many and varied reasons for these problems, it is not unreasonable to assume that the marketing of alcohol products has in some way contributed to them. A careful and honest evaluation of the role of alcohol marketing is needed both to help develop creative solutions and to restore some semblance of moral integrity to a discipline tarnished by the unethical actions of some of its proponents.
The code of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland governs all advertising in Ireland and contains a number of restrictions on the portrayal of alcohol products.
There is a general obligation for alcohol advertising not to "exploit the young or the immature" and for all characters portrayed in alcohol advertising to be, and appear to be, above 25 years of age and not to be depicted in an intoxicated state. Alcohol should not be shown to contribute to social, business, or especially sexual success and it should not portray those who drink as being either brave or daring.
Even a very superficial examination of many alcohol advertisements would reveal significant deviations from this code.
Thus, on two separate occasions this year, the authority has sanctioned Coors Light for its advertisements depicting young males engaged in drinking games.
In the view of the authority's complaints committee, these advertisements were likely to be attractive to minors and would encourage excessive drinking.
In a similar fashion, Smirnoff Ice has been taken to task for creating a connection between consuming that product and success in attracting members of the opposite sex, while Guinness's depiction of a man rescuing the Guinness supply from a bar in a town which had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption was felt to link bravery with the consumption of alcohol.
There are substantial problems with this method of controlling alcohol advertising. The authority requires a specific complaint to be made before making a judgment on an advertisement and by then the advert in question may have had significant exposure.
The penalty, such as it is, is that the advertisement is not shown again without changes which reflect the concerns of the authority. A more effective method would be to require all advertisements for alcohol to be examined in advance to ensure their compliance with the code. There are proposals in place for an industry-wide agreement on improving this vetting procedure and this is to be welcomed.
The relationship between alcohol advertising and consumption is a complex one. Mr Pat Barry, speaking on behalf of the alcohol industry on the Prime Time debate, claimed that studies have shown there is no link between alcohol advertising and increased consumption. This proposition is not entirely correct.
It is true that there is a stream of research spanning several decades, mainly based on econometric studies, which have failed to show any major link between the amount spent on alcohol promotion and an overall increase in alcohol consumption.
But there are several methodological deficiencies with these macro-level studies, and they entirely fail to assess the specific impact of advertising on younger audiences.
On the other hand, studies which have focused on the individual consumer as the unit of analysis have found that young people who are aware of, and familiar with, alcohol advertisements are more likely to drink alcohol. The emphasis placed on sex and sensuality in many alcohol advertisements makes them all the more attractive to young people, heightening their awareness and familiarity with the brands in question.
Focus group research with Irish teenagers, commissioned by the Health Promotion Unit last year, examined their attitudes towards certain alcohol brands and advertisements. These teenagers went so far as to rate alcohol advertisements as their overall favourite category of advertisement, and many of them as young as 12-14 years clearly connected certain alcohol advertisements with enhanced sexual attractiveness.
It matters little whether the creation of such attitudes in teenagers is a deliberate aim or unfortunate side-effect of alcohol marketing. The fact is that many alcohol products, especially those in the new spirit-based drink categories, are promoted in a hedonistic fashion and this will clearly resonate with teenagers who are vulnerable to this kind of appeal.
Of course, advertising is but a small element of marketing activity. The sponsorship of sporting events aimed at young people, price promotions encouraging increased consumption and the development of new alcopop products that mask the taste of alcohol or "shot"-based products allowing more rapid inebriation, all form part of the wider world of alcohol marketing. A ban on alcohol advertising would simply see more effort deployed by alcohol marketers in these and other areas
A partial solution may be found in new marketing campaigns aimed at encouraging more responsible drinking by all age groups. Significant funding has been invested in campaigns to encourage safer driving and to discourage smoking, and it now seems opportune to make similar high-profile efforts in the alcohol arena.
This is no easy task given the social sacredness of alcohol consumption in our culture and the significant investment of resources deployed by those who market alcohol. Such a campaign would have to match these financial and creative resources, and be supported by a more comprehensive implementation of existing laws, to avoid obscurity and irrelevance.
Patrick Kenny is a lecturer in Marketing Strategy in the School of Marketing, Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street.