400% rise in alcohol advertising not turning U.S. into country of drunks

Several cities in the U.S. have recently passed bans on alcohol advertising yet, according to the new study, such advertising has had little to no effect on per-capita consumption.

Alcohol advertising media expenditure has soared by more than 400% since 1971. Contrary to some beliefs that this, in turn, causes a hike in consumption, the study found that there is “either no relationship or a weak one” between the amount spent advertising alcoholic beverages and total consumption.

Instead, advertising directly influences the brands or categories consumers purchase. According to the report, during the period of study, “beer sales have exhibited a downward trend since the early 1990s, while wine and liquor have increased their share of total alcohol sales. This is despite large increases in advertising expenditures across all three categories of alcohol”.

The study, ‘Beer, Wine or Spirits? Advertising’s Impacts on Four Decades of Category Sales‘, found per-capita consumption remained relatively constant during the study period of 1971 through to 2011.

The research suggests that a more viable alternative to banning alcohol advertising is to inform the public of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.

“Although criticisms of alcohol advertising and promotional methods abound, remedies that would restrict or overly regulate such communication activities usually do not have the desired effect of reducing consumption,” said Professor Gary Wilcox, Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, one of the study authors. “Instead, a more logical alternative would be to communicate as much information as possible to the public about the subject and encourage all viewpoints so our society makes an autonomous, rational choice regarding alcohol consumption.”