necessarily commercials. Do advertisements always sell the product and ideas to the right groups
of people, or are the “big bucks” commercials really targeting the underage consumer?
Products are advertised in various forms. Teenagers today are greatly influenced by
events or ideals portrayed in movies and sit-coms, commercials they see on television, and
common transactions that go on at recreational events. Some of these ideas promoted are not
made for underage people. Alcohol is one such product. Bombarded with advertisements,
everyday underage groups see advertisements for some sort of alcoholic beverage. While one
part of their world is telling them it …show more content…
These types of advertisements contribute to minors
drinking because they glorify the product in such a way that young people feel this must be the
social norm.
In many movies and television shows designed for the average teenager, the “cool”
people are always at a party where some form of alcohol is around or implied. The characters
always go back to school and talk about how much fun they had at the party. In the movie “10
Things I Hate About You”, two of the characters change a poster for a party to say something
about free beer. In turn, this social gathering turned into what became thought as the party of the
month. In many episodes of teen-age television programs, the writers use alcohol in the episodes.
In Dawson’s Creek, many of the episodes show the characters dealing with the aspects of teen
life by using alcohol. This unsafe and illegal method portrayed by the characters lets the teen
viewer feel it is okay to deal with problems through drinking.
Telecast sporting events are primary promoters for adult beverages. Many of the adult
beverages companies are corporate sponsors for these professional teams or individuals.
Naturally these companies will pay “big bucks” to have a 30 second spot to plug their …show more content…
Attending one of these events can also provide major
exposure to the deluge of alcohol. At many of these sporting events alcohol is the predominate
drink sold. They are made readily available to the consumer and in some cases out number the
other food and soft drink vendors.
The local arena committee, in some cases, can make the decision to sale adult beverages
at a local event. At a performance of Sesame Street Live, a show designed for young children,
alcohol was sold to the adults. Again, the message sent out to young people was alcohol is
acceptable anytime, anywhere.
Lobbyist groups such as MADD, lobby for tough laws to protect minors. A