• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 3, 2007

Young people were significantly less exposed to magazine ads for alcoholic products between 2001 and 2005, according to a new study released by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University. But before advertisers break out the sparkling grape juice, it's worth considering that some kinds of alcohol advertisers--specifically, those marketing hard liquors--have simply gravitated away from print to TV as their medium of choice.

Overall youth exposure to magazine ads for alcoholic beverages declined 49% from 2001 to 2005, but a large percentage of magazine advertising is still concentrated in magazines with young readership, defined as magazines with readership that's more than 15% under the age of 21. These magazines attracted 44% of the advertising and 50% of the overall spending. The CAMY study analyzed 16,635 alcohol ads, with a total cost of almost $1.7 billion.

While it might sound like positive news for magazines, the decline in youth exposure coincides with a general shift away from magazines to TV by hard alcohol marketers.

Magazines have taken a hit in hard-liquor advertising, which declined about 6% between 2001 and 2004--falling from $254 million to $239 million. Over the same approximate period--2001 to 2005--TV ad budgets for alcoholic products increased by 32%, from $780 million in 2001 to more than $1 billion in 2005. Cable TV is driving the boom, with ad dollars up from $156.7 million in 2001 to $441 million in 2005. Distilled spirits (hard liquor) advertising has grown especially fast--increasing 2,300% since 2001, to $121.5 million.

The trend isn't clear-cut across all types of alcohol: while magazines are seeing hard liquor ad dollars erode, beer companies are pouring it on--boosting spending from $31 million in 2001 to $65 million in 2004. Wine companies are also upping their budgets, from $29 million in 2001 to $47 million in 2004.