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?
If there is no ethical justification for this, what (ethically) is wrong with this differentiation?
There is no ethical justification for running beer and wine ads but not ads for hard liquor. Holding vendors of...
That's exactly why advertisers, manufacturers, and broadcasters in the distilled spirits industry ended their voluntary ban on radio and television advertising. Beer and wine makers were gaining market share at the expense of distilled spirits vendors.
Effective brand competition of like products and informed consumer choice depend on the free flow of commercial information (Distillers spirits advertising in perspective). Television advertising, like any other form of advertising, is designed to enhance brand preference and is critical to remain competitive. Therefore, the television networks ought to be forced to apply existing rules and regulations equally to all suppliers to alcohol. The real answer to promoting public interest and addressing ethical concerns about targeting underage youth lies in changing laws or applying company guidelines equally to all companies.
Bibliography
Alcohol advertising on television, 2001 to 2003: more of the same. Retrieved November 9, 2005 from Web site: http://camy.org/research/tv1004/
Beaver, W. (1997, July-August). What to do about alcohol advertising. Business Horizons.
Retrieved November 9, 2005 from Web site: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n4_v40/ai_20141970#continue
Bivins, T. (2004) Mixed media. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbarum Associates, Inc.
Distilled spirits advertising in perspective. Retrieved November 9, 2005 from Web site: http://www.discus.org/industry/perspective.htm
Television alcohol ads bombarding teens continue to rise (2004, October 12). Retrieved November 9, 2005 from Web site: http://camy.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=24
