Alcohol Advertisers Essay Research Paper What alcohol

Alcohol Advertisers Essay, Research Paper

What alcohol advertisers are failing to mention is the really scary statistics of alcohol consumption. Nearly 13 million US citizens are alcoholics and ten percent of all deaths in the United States are alcohol-related (Kilbourne,2). Because alcohol industry spends over two billion dollars annually on advertising, it is not desirable for media to discuss the hundred thousand alcohol-related deaths each year, as well as the role alcohol plays in violence (Kilbourne,3).

A very disturbing trend in alcohol advertising is the attempt to appeal to young people. Many teenagers become fascinated with alcoholic beverages way before their legal drinking age. The rise of alcohol advertising on the World Wide Web is rapid. There are no strict regulations of advertising on the Internet, which makes it easier for the alcohol industry to target younger generation. There are 25 companies on the web that target college students and teenagers by developing web sites that appeal to youth (Williams,1). “These companies use a blend of humor, hip language, interactive games and contests, lifestyle features about popular culture and art, along with web discussion forms that create a sense of community among web visitors” (Williams,1). Some of the examples are Stoli.com, Zima.com, Molson.com, and Cuervo.com. “The view the alcohol industry wants to promote through these web sites is that drinking is all fun and games, a risk-free activity; when, in fact, alcohol is a potentially addictive drug associated with massive personal and societal harm”(Williams, 3).

Alcohol industry is trying to appropriate drinking, making it increasingly acceptable social behavior. This task is largely achieved by advertising. According to Jean Kilbourne, there are seven myths the alcohol industry wants consumers to buy into. One of the myths is that you can not survive without alcohol. Without alcohol your life is not fun, it is boring and ordinary. Bacardi ad demonstrates that quality – “trading floor by day. Bacardi by night.” The intended reading of this ad is would be that you work hard and deserve to have fun. The man and the woman in the ad are dancing and smiling. The woman in the ad finds the man very attractive. She even overlooks the fact that he is not properly shaved. That delivers a message of alcohol being able to mask imperfections in anybody. It appears that they are having a great time, thanks to Bacardi. Revelstoke whisky also upholds this myth. “In Canada, the average paycheck rarely lasts two weeks. It’s more like twenty songs.” The ad features a middle-age man getting a lap dance from a woman in a bikini. This gentleman is having a wonderful time because of Revelstoke whisky and the exotic dancer at his lap. If it wasn’t for the whisky, he would have been utterly bored, trying to make his paycheck last two weeks. But thanks to Revelstoke, his problem is solved. Another myth the alcohol industry is trying to promote is that problem drinking is normal, which is also exemplified by Revelstoke ad. Small letters at the bottom of the page reads – “Strong, smooth whisky from a country that requires it.” Life in Canada is pretty intolerable, so Canadians created Revelstoke to get away from the harsh reality. At least that’s what the advertisers of Revelstoke would like us to believe. Apparently the man in this ad is not very happy with his life, if he is willing to spend his two-week paycheck on whisky and strippers. Whatever this man’s problem might be he is making himself feel better about it by consuming Revelstoke and forgetting about his problems. Yet another myth is that alcohol is a magic potion. Alcohol can make you popular, attractive, desirable, rich, successful and powerful. Pyrat rum and Drambuie are among the ads that support this myth. Pyrat rum’s tagline is “Ladies love outlaws”. It features Victoria Silvstedt (1997 playmate of the year), in a painted on bra, and an open robe. This ad is trying to make the readers believe that if they drink Pyrat rum, they will be perceived as outlaws, and courted by ladies such as Victoria. Drambuie ad’s caption reads “It’s when after-dinner turns into before breakfast.” In other words, with the help of Dambuie,you will appear more attractive and desirable to the opposite sex. Chances are you’ll even get lucky tonight. Due to the lack of illustrations in this ad, the viewer has a lot of room for imagination on how to spend the time between dinner and breakfast as long as there is enough of magic Drambuie.

Most alcohol ads use sex to sell their product. In some cases the use of sex is obvious and undeniable. Other ads, however are more ambiguous and less overt in expressing sexual connotations. Psychoanalytic criticism of media argues states that advertisers often use psychological devices to appeal to consumers. According to Freud, our aggressive and sexual impulses come to expression through symbolic representation, and thus avoid censorship. Symbols are often ambivalent, and can be determined by personal experience. However, there are universal symbols, in which the relationship between the symbol and the symbolized is intrinsic. (Berger, 67.) For instance, alcohol consumption is a universal symbol of loose, relaxed behavior that often leads to unplanned intimacy. Some of the symbols of sexual pleasure are dancing, riding, driving, flying etc. A female genitalia is represented by bottles, caves,