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CAMY Study: Radio Alcohol Ads Still Reaching Young

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New research by an alcohol advertising watchdog organization concludes that nearly one out of 11 radio ads for alcoholic beverages in 75 markets across the U.S. during 2009 failed to comply with the alcoholic beverage industry's voluntary standard for ad placements.

Based on its study, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated that it supports calls by The National Research Council, the Institute of Medicine and 24 state attorneys general that the industry implement a more stringent standard.

The Distilled Spirits Council issued a quick response, maintaining that CAMY's research is flawed and biased, and that its conclusions are "unsupported by the body of scientific literature."

In 2003, industry trade groups committed to placing alcohol ads in media outlets only when underage youth represent 30% or less of the audience, since 30% of the total U.S. audience is 20 or younger. Groups calling for a tougher standard have proposed a "proportional" 15% placement standard, saying that the group most at risk -- those 12 to 20 -- represent 15% of the U.S. population.

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The CAMY analysis found that 9% of the ads in 75 markets that account for nearly 50% of radio listeners age 12 and older failed to meet the industry standards. CAMY also reported that three brands -- Miller Lite, Bud Light and Coors Light -- placed more than half of the ads that the research found to be in violation of the self-regulatory standard.

"A 9% failure rate for an already weak standard means that a significant number of young people are being overexposed to alcohol advertising on the radio," maintains CAMY director David Jernigan. "Reducing the voluntary standard to 15% percent would go a long way toward keeping our young people safe and away from the undue influence of alcohol marketing."

CAMY analyzed radio alcohol ads placed in 75 local markets during 2009, for which full-year data from a consistent survey methodology were available. These markets represent 46.5% of the U.S. population age 12 and older, according to the researchers.

CAMY, which describes its mission as "monitoring the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of America's youth," was founded in 2002 at Georgetown University with funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Center moved to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2008, and is currently funded by the federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other findings as reported by CAMY:

  • In 2009, those 12 to 20 were more likely than adults, on a per-capita basis, to hear 32% of alcohol advertising placements.
  • Distilled spirits were the most common type of alcohol ads to "overexpose" youth audiences in Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) markets. PPM uses small devices, rather than recall research or diaries, to measure listening.

In most of the 11 markets in which PPMs were deployed throughout 2009, females 12 to 20 were more likely than boys of the same ages to be exposed to advertising for "alcopops," distilled spirits and wine.

  • In diary markets, beer and alcopop ads were found most likely to "overexpose" youth.
  • Fifteen brands garnered 25% or more of their exposure to youth in at least 10% of markets from advertising not in compliance with the industry's 30% standard.

"The perception that young people are only listening to music on their iPods, cell phones and the Internet is naive," stated Jernigan. "Radio is still a source of entertainment for youth and alcohol ads are still finding their way to too many young ears."

In response to the CAMY report, the Distilled Spirits Council, the trade association representing leading U.S. distilled spirits brands, issued a response making the following points (click here for full response and links to relevant studies cited):

  • CAMY's claim that alcohol advertising is causing teens to drink "is disproved by the federal government data and unsupported by the body of scientific literature."
  • CAMY's call for stricter advertising standards "ignores recent federal government statistics, which show that alcohol consumption and binge drinking rates among 8th, 10th and 12th graders have continued their long-term decline, reaching historically low levels."
  • "Experts in the advertising research field have long disagreed with CAMY's assertions, and the FTC also has pointed out flaws in CAMY's methodology in its 2003 and 2008 reports on alcohol advertising."
  • The distilled spirits industry's Code of Responsible Practices has been "cited as a model of social responsibility by regulators, industry critics, the media and, pointedly, by the former executive director of CAMY."

"Unfortunately, advocacy-driven studies suggesting policy avenues that will have no impact on reducing underage drinking mislead the public and public officials, and divert attention from strategies that are truly effective," maintains Peter Cressy, president of the Distilled Spirits Council.

As of this article's posting, the Brewers Association said it could not offer an accurate comment on CAMY's analysis of individual brewers' advertising because it did not yet have access to the ratings information/data on the media purchasing.

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