Download this fact sheet: Alcohol promotion and young people: for parents and workers [PDF: 37 KB]
June 2003
Introduction
Every day in Australia , teenagers and young people are exposed to high and increasing levels of alcohol advertising and marketing. While research shows that alcohol advertising and promotion could have an influence on teenage drinking, many parents are at a loss about what to do to reduce this influence on their children.
This fact sheet provides some background information on alcohol advertising and promotion in Australia . It discusses the liquor industry's code of responsible advertising, and provides tips on how to lodge a complaint about an alcohol advertisement.
What is the problem with alcohol?
Alcohol is associated with significant levels of harm among Australians, particularly young people. In 1998, alcohol use was the cause of 814 deaths and 25 207 hospital admissions of Australians aged 15–34 years.
More than 40 per cent of young people aged 16–24 years surveyed in Victoria in September 2002 were drinking at levels that placed them at risk of short-term harm. Of these, 19.5 per cent of males and 13.8 per cent of females aged 18–24 years were drinking at these risky levels on a weekly basis.
What is the problem with advertising alcohol?
Many products, such as soft drinks, fashion and music items, are directly targeted towards teenagers and young people. But young people also see products advertised that they cannot purchase legally, such as cigarettes and alcohol.
Alcohol advertising and promotion encourages positive associations with alcohol and links drinking alcohol with attractive symbols and role models. For example, beer advertisements often suggest that the product can help the drinker to be more relaxed, happy and successful. Advertisements for spirits, ready mix drinks and alcopops (alcoholic lemonades) often link consumption of the product with personal, social, sexual and business success.
No 'reality' advertising
In addition, alcohol advertisements do not portray the negative consequences of risky or excessive drinking, such as drunkenness and potential health and other risks. Of particular concern are advertisements which suggest an association with illegal drugs or which use elements of youth culture, such as animation, music and fashion to create an association with young people.
It's not just advertising
The alcohol industry spends an estimated $70 million a year on advertising and promotion of their products. But rising costs of more traditional media, such as television, radio, magazines and newspapers, have shifted the focus from advertising and promotion to alternatives such as sponsorship, product placements, new and interactive media (e.g. digital television, world wide web, SMS and email) and viral marketing strategies.
There is fierce competition among alcohol manufacturers and retailers to increase their share of the market. Young people are a prime target because they are considered to be a uniquely profitable, three-in-one market: as buyers themselves, as influencers of their parents' purchases and as future adult consumers. Thus, advertising and marketing campaigns increasingly include alternative strategies which appeal to young people.
Most advertisements are fairly easy to recognise, but sometimes it is not clear that what is presented is actually an advertisement. For example, placement of a product brand in a popular television series is a disguised advertisement that can give the impression that "everyone" is consuming it.
What is being done?
In July 1998, the then Federal Minister for Family and Health Services announced a new Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code and Complaints Management System (ABAC). The code was developed and supported by all key Australian alcohol manufacturers, marketing and advertising associations, as well as media and consumer bodies such as the Australian Consumers Association and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). All members of the four major alcohol beverage associations, the Australian Associated Brewers Inc., Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia Inc., Liquor Merchants Association of Australia Ltd and the Winemakers' Federation of Australia, agreed to abide by the ABAC.
The aim of the ABAC is to ensure that alcohol advertising does not glamourise alcohol consumption or target vulnerable groups in the community, and to provide an avenue for complaints against advertisements that contravene the code. A copy of the ABAC and details about how to lodge a complaint against an advertisement are provided on the attached pages.
Complaints against alcohol advertisements
Under the Australian Association of National Advertisers' (AANA) system, all complaints about advertising are first channelled through the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB).
Complaints involving issues such as discrimination, vilification, violence, sex, sexuality, nudity, alarm and distress to children, language and health and safety, are considered by the ASB. Complaints about alcohol advertisements not involving these issues are referred to the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) Complaints Adjudication Panel. Complaints relating to both taste and decency issues and additional concerns about the alcohol product may be dealt with by both the ASB and the ABAC Complaints Panel.
How to lodge a complaint
If you would like to complain about an advertisement for an alcohol product, you should lodge your complaint in writing. Make sure you include details on:
- the name of the product
- the name of the advertiser
- a description of the advertisement
- when and where you saw or heard it
- reasons for your concerns
- your name and postal address.
Advertising Standards Bureau
Level 2,
97 Northbourne Avenue
Turner ACT 2612
Fax 02 6292 9833
Email asb@advertisingstandardsbureau.com.au
Web www.advertisingstandardsbureau.com.au
Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code and Complaints Management System
According to the code, advertisements for alcoholic beverages must:
a) present a mature, balanced and responsible approach to the consumption of alcohol beverages and, accordingly –
i. –must not encourage excessive consumption or abuse of alcohol
ii. –must not encourage under-age drinking
iii. –must not promote offensive behaviour, or the excessive consumption, misuse or abuse of alcohol beverages
iv. –must only depict the responsible and moderate consumption of alcohol beverages
b) not have a strong or evident appeal to children or adolescents and, accordingly –
i. –adults appearing in advertisements must be over 25 years of age and be clearly depicted as adults
ii.–children and adolescents may only appear in advertisements in natural situations (e.g. family barbecue, licensed family restaurant) and where there is no implication that the depicted children and adolescents will consume or serve alcohol beverages
iii.–adults under the age of 25 years may only appear as part of a natural crowd or background scene
c) not suggest that the consumption or presence of alcohol beverages may create or contribute to a significant change in mood or environment and, accordingly –
i. –must not depict the consumption or presence of alcohol beverages as a cause of or contributing to the achievement of personal, business, social, sporting, sexual or other success
ii.–if alcohol beverages are depicted as part of a celebration, must not imply or suggest that the beverage was a cause of or contributed to success or achievement
iii.–must not suggest that the consumption of alcohol beverages offers any therapeutic benefit or is a necessary aid to relaxation
d) not depict any direct association between the consumption of alcohol beverages, other than low-alcohol beverages, and the operation of a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft or the engagement in any sport (including swimming and water sports) or potentially hazardous activity and, accordingly –
i. –any depiction of the consumption of alcohol beverages in connection with the above activities must not be represented as having taken place before or during engagement of the activity in question and must in all cases portray safe practices
ii.–any claim concerning safe consumption of low-alcohol beverages must be demonstrably accurate
e) not challenge or dare people to drink or sample a particular alcohol beverage, other than low-alcohol beverages, and must not contain any inducement to prefer an alcohol beverage because of its higher alcohol content
f) comply with the Advertiser Code of Ethics adopted by the Australian Association of National Advertisers.