"5.
Problems with Alcohol Advertising .
Young children and youth in general are more likely to "respond moralistically and literally to alcohol advertisements because of the products promoted. "4 The problem with alcohol advertising is not the describing of the actual drink but rather the lifestyle it promotes. Alcohol advertising creates a glamorous, pleasurable image that attracts youth. Youth are continuously seeking role models and attractive lifestyles to emulate. These ads associate wealth, success, social approval and leisurely life with drinking. Alcohol ads tend to be much more emotional rather than factual, often using sexuality to directly appeal to consumers. Ads usual feature an attractive woman who will end up with the guy who drank the right kind of beer/liquor. For example a Skyy Vodka commercial shows how you can become the life of the party and have any girl you want if you drink Skyy. The man in the commercial begins to attract attention from people at the party, particularly women, when they see him take out the Skyy bottle. At the end of the ad it shows him with multiple women draped around him as they all drink Skyy. Boys see that alcohol is how they get girls and girls begin to see it is the outward appearance that is most important in attracting men. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, direct sexual appeals in ads are more favorably received by young people than by adults. They claim that advertising with sexual appeals plays on the feeling of sexual inadequacy of young people.3 .
Sports and the use of celebrities is another dimension of alcohol advertising that draws in youth. Celebrities are common heroes for youth. By adding a celebrity to an alcohol advertisement, it enhances the power of the advertisement. A basic interpretation would be the lifestyle that is depicted by the celebrity, or if he/she drinks it then I should too. Youth could interpret celebrity alcohol endorsed advertising wrongly and think if they do and act as the celebrity does, they'll be just alike.