I love seeing commercials for beer or liquor on TV. They always seem to be well thought out and
let’s face it, when it is time to have a drink, it means the work day is over
and it’s time to relax. Commercials like
that are bound to make you happy. Well,
I was just reading an article on Adweek that talked about the new rules that
the Federal Trade Commission is requiring.
“Over the years,
alcohol advertisers have adopted more stringent guidelines concerning ads in
media where 70 percent of the audience is 21 and older, up from a 50 percent
threshold prior to 2003.” That was fine
for then but with the explosion of mobile Internet capabilities, the rules are
changing again. The fed’s don’t want
marketers to advertise this type of material to people under 21 years old. The major advertisers must now “detail their use of digital marketing and
data collection practices.”
In 2008, only 2% of the major advertiser’s budgets were used
for Internet advertising and other digital placement. Now with the web being full of “social media”
those numbers are changing. There is a
study going on called “Alcohol Marketing in the Digital Age” that catalogued
the digital and social media strategies used by the most popular brands. They are not fooling around, they want to
keep the Internet a safe place for those of you that are not yet 21 years
old. Never mind all the other stuff that
goes on in cyberspace, but at least you won’t be tempted to drink a beer.
In any event, I guess it is good to keep an eye on the
things they could keep an eye on, no reason to fill up space with beer ads if
the majority of the people seeing the ads can’t purchase your product
legally. I, on other hand welcome the
advertising. I only wish they would
throw me a coupon once in a while.
Bachman, Katy. "FTC Broadens Study of Alcohol
Advertising Agency eyeing ads seen by underage audiences." adweek.com.
N.p., 12 April 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2012.
<http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ftc-broadens-study-alcohol-advertising-139546>.
I agree that it can't hurt alcohol companies to move their ad placements from spots where the majority of viewers cannot even buy alcohol to other places on the Internet. It could only help their sales! On the other hand, I also feel that the FTC (although it's their job and purpose) and the US as a whole worries too much about what people under 21 will see in advertising. When you make something like alcohol so forbidden, doesn't it only make kids want to try it more?!
ReplyDeleteEven though I understand the need for alcohol regulations when it comes to advertising it makes me sad. Alcohol advertisements are some of the best, well put together ads ever. But there are some people who should not be seeing these ads. This is mainly underage kids. My brother is 17 and loves the alcohol ads he sees. So I guess this is necessary.
ReplyDeleteI can see both sides to this. They do get a little out of hand with the Budweiser commercials at the Superbowl every other minute. However, I think everyone is aware that the drinking age is 21, and whether they choose to follow that or not will happen even if they have less exposure to these types of advertisements. I truly do not think it will make a difference, and these companies are advertising just as everyone else is, it is their right to want to reach their audiences and make money.
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