Alcohol Advertising and Teen Drinking: Research Review
This paper reviews research on the relationship between alcohol advertising and underage drinking, with particular attention to how exposure across television, radio, and magazines correlates with adolescent drinking behaviors. Drawing on studies by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) and other researchers, the paper examines advertising exposure among the general teen population as well as among specific demographic groups, including teenage girls, African-American youth, and Hispanic youth. The review finds consistent evidence that underage audiences are disproportionately exposed to alcohol advertising and calls for stricter federal regulation of industry marketing practices to reduce teen alcohol consumption.
- Introduction: Advertising and Underage Drinking: FTC guidelines, industry compliance, and advertising's influence on teens
- Radio and Magazine Advertising Exposure Among Teenagers: CAMY data on underage exposure to radio and magazine alcohol ads
- Gender Differences in Adolescent Alcohol Ad Exposure: Jernigan study on girls' disproportionate exposure to alcohol advertising
- Magazine Reading, Peer Influence, and Youth Drinking: Thomsen and Rekve on youth magazines, peers, and drinking behavior
- Alcohol Advertising Targeting African-American Youth: CAMY findings on overexposure of Black youth to alcohol ads
- Alcohol Advertising Targeting Hispanic Youth: Hispanic youth's elevated alcohol ad exposure and health consequences
- Conclusion and Policy Recommendations: Call for federal regulation to reduce alcohol advertising to minors
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What makes this paper effective
- Systematically integrates multiple empirical studies to build a cumulative case, rather than relying on a single source.
- Addresses demographic subgroups (girls, African-American youth, Hispanic youth) separately, showing how advertising effects vary across populations.
- Balances quantitative data (specific ad spending figures, percentage exposure comparisons) with policy context, grounding statistics in real-world implications.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a literature synthesis structure: it introduces a policy problem, surveys relevant studies in a logical sequence, and uses each study's findings to reinforce the central argument. The author consistently distinguishes between what studies found and what researchers recommend, maintaining a clear line between evidence and interpretation.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a policy framing (FTC guidelines and industry compliance failures), then moves through increasingly specific evidence: general teen exposure, gender differences, effects of youth-oriented magazine reading, and finally two dedicated sections on racial and ethnic minority youth. A brief conclusion ties the findings to a federal policy call to action. This funnel structure — broad to specific, evidence to recommendation — is well-suited to a research review essay.
Introduction: Advertising and Underage Drinking
How can the trend toward increased alcohol consumption among teenagers be reduced? The answer to this critical societal question is being addressed by a number of researchers, many of whom believe that advertising offers a potential explanation for the rise.
In 1999, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission called for the alcohol industry to modify its practices in order to limit underage exposure to alcohol advertising (FTC, 1999). According to a report by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY, 2002), however, the industry may not have responded adequately. According to guidelines announced in September 2003 by the Beer Institute and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, underage youth should not constitute more than 30 percent of the audience for alcohol advertisements.
CAMY subsequently found that more than 25 percent of the radio commercials that aired for alcohol in the summer of 2003 would not have been in compliance with these revised industry marketing codes. Among the airings analyzed, 28 percent took place when underage listeners accounted for more than 30 percent of the audience. In 14 out of the 15 largest radio markets, underage listeners were more likely, on a per capita basis, to hear alcohol commercials than people over 21.
A growing body of literature has linked beer and alcohol advertising with adolescent drinking expectancies and behaviors (Aitken, 1989 and 1990; Austin & Knauss, 2000; Grube & Wallack, 1994; Kelly & Edwards, 1998; Martin et al., 2002). Although advertisers insist these commercials are targeted to adult drinkers, the messages frequently appear during television programs and in magazines seen or read by significant numbers of teenage viewers and readers. In addition, beer and alcohol advertisements often use tactics such as humor, youth-oriented themes, and young-adult actors or models — all of which increase their appeal to underage audiences.
Radio and Magazine Advertising Exposure Among Teenagers
CAMY worked with Virtual Media Resources, an independent media planning and research firm, to analyze 51,883 airings of 106 different alcohol ads. The ads aired in 104 markets across the country during June and July of 2003. Such advertisements most likely exert a strong influence on teenagers listening to the radio.
The study revealed that alcohol companies spent $590.4 million to place 471 beer and ale advertisements (8 percent), 4,748 distilled spirits advertisements (76 percent), 116 low-alcohol refresher advertisements (2 percent), and 904 wine advertisements (14 percent) in magazines in 2001 and 2002. As a result, in 2002, underage youth saw 45 percent more beer and ale advertising, 12 percent more distilled spirits advertising, and 65 percent more low-alcohol refresher advertising than persons 21 years and older, while seeing 69 percent less advertising for wine.
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