Advertising or PSA? Are These

Advertising or PSA?

Are these true PSAs or advertisements?

The advertisers of distilled spirits are certainly claiming that this is a public service announcement. They argue that because beer and wine are currently advertised on television more frequently than distilled spirits, viewers infer the wrong message that one form of alcohol is intrinsically more subject to abuse or ill affects than another. Therefore, they are merely letting the public know that alcohol is alcohol. And, that's precisely the problem, alcohol is alcohol and its potential for abuse is tremendous.

The messages should be construed by objective third parties as advertisements. In fact, the message itself doesn't even pass the test for truth in public relations and advertising as outlined by Bivins (2004). Although the message appears to be accurate and it may be in the public's best interest to know that beer and wine have just as much alcohol content as distilled spirits, the completeness of the message is in question. Most notably, the negative potential affects of all alcoholic beverages such as drinking while driving, alcoholism and links to criminal behavior are not discussed. Further, it's useful for the consumer to understand that beer, wine and liquor have the same effect only if a person drinks them in a standard size serving and at the same rate (Distillers spirits advertising in perspective). Because beer, wine and liquor are also usually served in different sizes (12 ounces for beer; 5 ounces for wine; and 1 1/2 ounces of 80 proof liquor), the potential to over consume distilled spirits may be far greater than for beer and wine for certain individuals.

The supposed public service announcement doesn't discuss this issue. And, in this instance, the advertisement listed the name of the company as the sponsoring organization to gain brand recognition.

Are these messages in the public interest?

While it may be useful to know that beer and wine are just as dangerous as distilled spirits, the benefits of this message are overshadowed by the negative impact of the entire line of products containing alcohol. In 1997, the Berkeley Wellness Center estimated that alcohol caused 100,000 deaths a year and cost U.S. society $86 billion annually (Beaver, 1997).

Alcohol is not just a personal problem; it's a social problem (Beaver, 1997) as indicated by the following disturbing statistics. In the late 1990s, about 20,000 people a year died in alcohol-related crashes and forty percent of all Americans were involved in a car accident in which drinking is involved. Links to crime are also a serious problem. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, half of all those imprisoned for murder were under the influence of alcohol when arrested; seventy percent of all fatal adolescent shootings involved drinking and alcohol was involved in about thirty-seven percent of rapes and the majority of aggravated assaults. Spousal violence is twice as likely to occur if one of the partners has been drinking and one third of all property crimes are linked to drinking. Alcohol related offenses are the largest arrest category in the U.S.

3. What ethical theories justify either running or not running the spots on television?

The U.S. Constitution is on the side of the distilled spirits advertisers. The right to advertise is constitutionally protected commercial free speech under the First Amendment (Distillers spirits advertising in perspective). The First Amendment protection afforded to distilled spirits advertising is equal in scope to the First Amendment protection afforded to the advertising of all other legal products and services, certainly wine and beer.

Many believe that advertisers should not be allowed to target underage audiences with products that are harmful to their health even if it means limiting constitutional protection because many children are not capable of making good choices. Research shows that youth exposure to alcohol advertising increases awareness of that advertising, which in turn influences young people's beliefs about drinking, intentions to drink, and drinking behavior (Alcohol advertising on television, 2001 to 2003: more of the same).

Opponents of advertising alcohol on television are growing more vocal as alcohol advertising that reaches youth expands, leading many to believe that alcohol vendors intentional target underage drinkers. The number of alcohol ads overexposing youth rose each year between 2001 and 2003, from an estimated 51,084 to 66,218 to 69,054 in 2003 (Television alcohol ads bombarding teens continue to rise, 2004). More than twenty-three percent of the 2003 alcohol ads were more likely to be seen by youth than adults on a per capita basis and all fifteen of the television shows most popular with teens had alcohol ads in 2003.

4. What ethical justification, if any, can you cite for running beer and wine ads but not ads for hard liquor?