Tv Alcohol Ads example essay topic

Advertising is a very important tool to motivate people to buy a specific product. However, advertisement may lead people to buy what is not good for them. One example is the advertising of alcohol. Lately, many argued that these advertisements became available in lots of places such as TV, radio, Internet, restaurants, and music festivals. Lots of people think that these advertisements are affecting youth a lot, so the law should do something to stop this. Others say that it should be limited to the print media, as are cigarette ads.

From my point of view, I agree that alcohol ads should be limited to the print media. To support this, I will give some reasons and facts about it. Alcohol companies use TV very much to advertise for Alcohol. Most TV alcohol ads appear during prime time, late in the evening, and on weekend afternoons. In these ads, alcohol companies use attractive ads that use animals, cartoons and music. Because of this, youth find these ads funny and attractive.

Some studies found that lots of youth can name more brands of beer than older people, and some of them can remember the songs on the ads. Radio is another tool that alcohol companies use to advertise for alcohol. Some studies say that 99.2% of teenagers listen to radio every week, and 80.6% listen every day. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and youth argue that alcohol companies use radio to send too much ads to teenagers by having these ads on the times when teenagers listen to them. The center found four important results. First, youth heard more radio ads for beer and distilled spirits.

Second, alcohol ads were placed on stations with youth formats. Third, alcohol ads were aired when youth listen most. Fourth, sixty three of 160 alcohol brands sent more ads to youth than adults. The Internet is a third way to advertise for alcohol. Lots of studies believe that the Internet is a very powerful tool to advertise products. Also, they find that children and youth are main Internet users.

The Center for Media Education (CME) found very important results about alcohol ads on the Internet. First, major alcohol companies are having too much ads on the web. Second, web sites that promote alcohol are using new techniques to attract youth, such as interactive games and contests. In addition, some web sites give the users free caps, tee-shirt, and drinking related products such as beer mugs. Some of these web sites use chat room that motivate people to drink. The CME also found that many web sites sell alcohol without asking any questions about the customer's age, and they deliver it directly to homes.

People are worried that all these advertising techniques will give alcohol companies a powerful tool to attract youth. Sport events and concerts are also very powerful tools that alcohol companies use to reach youth. Lots of these events are sponsored by alcohol companies. It is very clear that teenagers are very important customers to these events. By showing alcohol ads on these events, these companies will link alcohol products with the event that youth like. At the end, alcohol companies will sell more alcohol to the youth.

All these medias channels are serving alcohol companies to sell more alcohol to youth and teenagers. Some studies showed that children who begin drinking before the age of 15 are affected by alcohol four times more than adults. A survey on students in grades 5 through 12 showed that 56% of them agree that alcohol ads motivate them to drink. The results of youths engaging in drinking alcohol are very dangerous, and can lead to death in many ways. Consuming alcohol is a main cause for car accidents, crimes, suicides and homicides. Another study showed that heavy drinking between the age of 18 and 25 has lots of social consequences, such as higher risk of health problems, fatal accidents, increase of vandalism, violent crimes, and academic problems.

For all the pervious results, I strongly agree that alcohol ads should be removed from TV, radio, restaurants, and sport events. If this happened, I am sure that youth and teenagers will be safer, and crimes and violent will decrease. In conclusion, I provide these suggestions in order to decrease such ads on these media. First, parents should control what their kids watch. Second, People should make pressures on TV, and radio stations to reduce alcohol ads.

Third, the government should put more regulations to stop alcohol ads that appear on public medias or events. Finally, schools should prepare special programs to educated children and teenagers about the negative effects of alcohol on their life. 1. Alcohol Advertising: Are Our Kids Collateral or Intended Targets? , George A. Hacker, January 10, 2002. web 2. Alcohol Advertising: Its impact on communities, and what coalitions can do to lessen that impact.

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of American and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. (There is publishing date) 3. Michael Siege. Overexposed: Youth a Target of Alcohol Advertising in Magazines.