Alcohol ads surround teens' picks

Trade groups said parents, not ads, had more influence on underage drinking.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
ST. LOUIS -- Amid public debate -- and litigation -- surrounding the relationship between alcohol marketing and underage drinking, a study says teenagers are bombarded with television commercials for alcohol.
According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University, the top 15 shows most popular with teenagers contain alcohol advertising. Six of those shows -- five on The WB network, one on the Fox network -- draw disproportionately young viewers, the center said.
Overall, alcohol TV advertising increased 39 percent in 2002 from 2001, the study said.
At a cost of about $53 million, according to the study, alcohol companies placed 5,085 ads with programs most popular among teens. "Survivor," "Fear Factor" and "That '70s Show" were among those with the most ads, the study found.
The report prompted advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving to call for tighter restrictions on alcohol marketing.
Trade groups' promise
Trade groups, including the Beer Institute and the Distilled Spirits Council, vowed in 2003 that their members would limit advertising to markets in which only 30 percent of the potential audience is underage, down from a previous 50 percent standard.
Jim O'Hara, the center's executive director, said the industry's marketing code can't keep up with its "aggressive marketing practices." The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In a statement, Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute, said parents are far more influential than commercials when it comes to children's decisions about drinking. He noted that the industry spends millions of dollars a year on programs that encourage parents to talk with their children about the dangers of underage drinking.
Some alcohol companies have been the targets of lawsuits alleging they market to teenagers.