Alcoholic
Contemporary Drug Problems 37/Spring 2010
57
The extent of global alcohol marketing and its impact on youth
BY DAVID H. JERNIGAN, PH.D.
Alcohol marketing is a global phenomenon, in which an increasingly small number of companies spend considerable sums to establish and embed their brands in the lives and lifestyles of populations. Market research data offers insight into the size and extent of the global alcohol trade, and the magnitude of alcohol advertising expenditures. Recent examples of alcohol marketing in a variety of national contexts illustrate the techniques used by the global companies. The effects of this marketing on young people are described in reviews of recent research studies on youth exposure to alcohol marketing and the effects of that exposure, interpretive models to explain the effects of alcohol marketing on young people, whether alcohol advertising targets young people, and assessments of the effectiveness of regulatory restrictions on marketing and other countermeasures. Despite the failure of public health research to keep pace with newly developing marketing technologies, there is a growing body of evidence that alcohol marketing influences young people’s drinking behavior. Measures to reduce that impact should be considered by national governments seeking to limit the public health burden caused by harmful use of alcohol. KEY WORDS: alcohol, advertising, youth, globalization, marketing.
AUTHOR ’ S NOTE : Support for development of an earlier version of this
paper was provided by the World Health Organization.
© 2010 by Federal Legal Publications, Inc.
58
GLOBAL ALCOHOL MARKETING
From a public health perspective, alcohol marketing matters. While there is tremendous diversity in the kinds of alcohol available throughout the world, from communally-produced traditional beverages to globalized mass consumer products, the globalized beverages play a particular role. They are, of their essence, marketed products, and
57
The extent of global alcohol marketing and its impact on youth
BY DAVID H. JERNIGAN, PH.D.
Alcohol marketing is a global phenomenon, in which an increasingly small number of companies spend considerable sums to establish and embed their brands in the lives and lifestyles of populations. Market research data offers insight into the size and extent of the global alcohol trade, and the magnitude of alcohol advertising expenditures. Recent examples of alcohol marketing in a variety of national contexts illustrate the techniques used by the global companies. The effects of this marketing on young people are described in reviews of recent research studies on youth exposure to alcohol marketing and the effects of that exposure, interpretive models to explain the effects of alcohol marketing on young people, whether alcohol advertising targets young people, and assessments of the effectiveness of regulatory restrictions on marketing and other countermeasures. Despite the failure of public health research to keep pace with newly developing marketing technologies, there is a growing body of evidence that alcohol marketing influences young people’s drinking behavior. Measures to reduce that impact should be considered by national governments seeking to limit the public health burden caused by harmful use of alcohol. KEY WORDS: alcohol, advertising, youth, globalization, marketing.
AUTHOR ’ S NOTE : Support for development of an earlier version of this
paper was provided by the World Health Organization.
© 2010 by Federal Legal Publications, Inc.
58
GLOBAL ALCOHOL MARKETING
From a public health perspective, alcohol marketing matters. While there is tremendous diversity in the kinds of alcohol available throughout the world, from communally-produced traditional beverages to globalized mass consumer products, the globalized beverages play a particular role. They are, of their essence, marketed products, and