Advertisers promote alcohol products and their use through the world wide web and various social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so forth. Young people, more specifically between the ages of 12 to 17 are inclined to be affected by alcohol related issues because of the advertising strategies several alcohol companies have put in place. While these advertisements benefit an individual alcohol company, there are many disadvantages in regards to how the promotion of alcohol negatively impacts an adolescent. This essay aims to critically examine how various advertisers promote their alcohol products and the reasons why young people are inclined to be affected by these strategies. The key aspects of alcohol promotion and its effect on
…show more content…
Most major alcohol companies use the internet and various social media to advertise their product. Most brands use the worlds three leading platforms - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The illusion that majority of these alcohol advertisements expose to young people on a regular basis depicts alcohol consumption as inexpensive, fun and social. Alcohol companies all over the globe have enthusiastically welcomed digital technologies and social media as an opportunity to promote their product with the ability to cover a larger area. For example, in 2012, Diageo, a British alcoholic brand, presumably spent 20% of its global advertising budget on social media. Due to the rapid expansion of digital communication and the increased amount of time young people spend on social media, there is growing concern regarding the marketing of alcohol on such platforms. This further proclaims that interactive marketing online is causing great concern because of the growth of new media. In recent years, the internet and new media have found unique ways to attract young people to their websites. Several alcohol companies have introduced features that are likely to appeal to young people. These include: interactive games and contests, screensavers, downloadable content such as music, wallpapers and apps. Advertisers have noticed that there is a lot more freedom to online advertising rather than the traditional means of news papers, …show more content…
According CNN, teenagers spend a mind blogging 9 hours a day on social media, almost a quarter of this is spent on YouTube, where they catch up on all the latest music videos (Wallace, 2015). Unfortunately, almost all music videos today have some sort of reference to alcohol (Nicholls, 2012,. p.486). People between the ages of 12 to 17 are exposed to alcohol promotion on a regular basis. These advertisements appeal to this particular demographic because they are designed in a certain way to appeal to the target audience (Jernigan, 2010. p. 57). Major sporting events are sponsored by alcohol brands, these events encourage the audience to use popular hashtags to promote their company and more often than not, people under the age of 18 attend these events and are exposed to the rowdy behaviour from drunk men. Alcohol sponsorship at such events has confirmed as increase in drinking and dangerous consumption among men and young people. Alcohol exposure from advertisements contributes to the normalisation of alcohol as an understatement that reinforces the harmful and hazardous drinking culture in existence within our societies today. Advertising of alcohol is just one of many aspects that plays a huge role in the encouragement of youth drinking from an early age. Those who have not yet started drinking have a normative assumption about teenage drinking through observing drinking behaviours from their peers, parents
Most major alcohol companies use the internet and various social media to advertise their product. Most brands use the worlds three leading platforms - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The illusion that majority of these alcohol advertisements expose to young people on a regular basis depicts alcohol consumption as inexpensive, fun and social. Alcohol companies all over the globe have enthusiastically welcomed digital technologies and social media as an opportunity to promote their product with the ability to cover a larger area. For example, in 2012, Diageo, a British alcoholic brand, presumably spent 20% of its global advertising budget on social media. Due to the rapid expansion of digital communication and the increased amount of time young people spend on social media, there is growing concern regarding the marketing of alcohol on such platforms. This further proclaims that interactive marketing online is causing great concern because of the growth of new media. In recent years, the internet and new media have found unique ways to attract young people to their websites. Several alcohol companies have introduced features that are likely to appeal to young people. These include: interactive games and contests, screensavers, downloadable content such as music, wallpapers and apps. Advertisers have noticed that there is a lot more freedom to online advertising rather than the traditional means of news papers, …show more content…
According CNN, teenagers spend a mind blogging 9 hours a day on social media, almost a quarter of this is spent on YouTube, where they catch up on all the latest music videos (Wallace, 2015). Unfortunately, almost all music videos today have some sort of reference to alcohol (Nicholls, 2012,. p.486). People between the ages of 12 to 17 are exposed to alcohol promotion on a regular basis. These advertisements appeal to this particular demographic because they are designed in a certain way to appeal to the target audience (Jernigan, 2010. p. 57). Major sporting events are sponsored by alcohol brands, these events encourage the audience to use popular hashtags to promote their company and more often than not, people under the age of 18 attend these events and are exposed to the rowdy behaviour from drunk men. Alcohol sponsorship at such events has confirmed as increase in drinking and dangerous consumption among men and young people. Alcohol exposure from advertisements contributes to the normalisation of alcohol as an understatement that reinforces the harmful and hazardous drinking culture in existence within our societies today. Advertising of alcohol is just one of many aspects that plays a huge role in the encouragement of youth drinking from an early age. Those who have not yet started drinking have a normative assumption about teenage drinking through observing drinking behaviours from their peers, parents