Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell

Alcoholic beverage
Should they be
(raop.
* *
,!, tlun H wr- armiri
rWwork ukifcui carries more than 5.000 fcxr and vrfoc »d»«r.
Utcmaiu Tftry year.
What do these first four su&ttcs
have lo do with the fifth statistic?
According to Comprehensive Care
Corporation, a private company that
specializes in pravUiog alcohol anti
drug abuse program*. "Exposure u>
alcobol advertising has been fount
to influence young people.**
With this In mind, acveral national
groups are incrcatlrg
pressure for a ban on alcohol advertising
on television and radio.
Claiming thai the broadcast advittiscments
influence mo>e pcopie.
especially minors, to drink alcobol,
the lobbying groups are stating taat
the health and safjty of the Ancri;an
society should be placed before my
industry** right to commercial
advertisement*
In response lo these prcsuirc
groups, the alcoholic beverage
sumption Icaris to greater intoxication
ud greater health problems.
There has oot been conclusive
evidence to prove or disprove the
point, however. As Dr. Michelle A.
Wolf of the Department of Broadcast
Communicatiofts Arts at San
Francisco State *Inivenrt> (SFSU)
stated. "Tecnigen definitely learn
from what they see and hear. But
what they do in terms of behavior is
almos< impossible to determine.
You can't talk about that unless the
environment and the family life of
the person is taken into account.
These cause-effect notions (hat people
have are too simptutic. TV
doesn't have as much powef as pov
pie believ; it docs."
According lo Wolf, product! can
be K>ld on two different levels. The
first level U a functional level, with
"The glamorous and glorified images
of alcohol use are misleading
impressionable young people into
believing that alcohol is associated
with success in ssx, sports,
business, ami friendships."
manufacturing todusny nod the
broadcast industry arc joining forces
to oppose the ban. For these groups,
it b more than a question of health
or free speech.
For the brewing industry, a ban in
commercial advertisements could
mean a drop in the numrcr and the
.•ate of purchasing of the* t products.
In oiher words, if the proposal succeeds,
the beer and wine companies
could lose millions of dollars in
fcvsrues.
For the television and radio indestries,
the proposal would effect a
lota of more than S7J0 million in
advertising. Alcoholic beverage
f»m,... ,-j.u ,„ the single largest
product advertisers on television.
giving networks etjbt percent of the
commercial viewing time. They also
account for 3.5 percent of total
television advertising rev&ues and
li percent o? radk> reverses.
IN ra^or qocaion at band is
whether or not advertising on teJcvisioa
ml radio affccti the audiences
and encourage* them lo drink
alcohot. If this allegation can be
" proven, then the advertising would
be ooonected to Incttmsed health and
death risks, she* increased coo-
a commercial proclair.-infj «hat the
product docs for its u»c.\ An exame'e
of this would be dishwashing liquid.
The advertiser of Sparklcan
dishwashing liquid would icll its audience
that Sparkkan washes dishes
faster, better, and more permanently
than other brands do.
The iccond level of advertising is
that of abstract value. Th!> type of
advertising acts on the basic needs
and wants of all consumers. The
product U displayed as leading to a
better and more successful life. Thz
correlating example would be a
commerctil that shows a beautiful,
young housewife thai uses
Sparklcan to clean a week's worth
of dishes in fivemimnesaad because
of the wonderful product has a lov*
ing husband, charming children.
and always wins «the bridxe club.
Abstract value advertising does not
work on an explicit level: it relies
more on implying certain things
rather than stating them outright.
A major auction of the proponents
of the ban is that CK
alcoholic beverage commercials are
not advertised on the functional
level, but nther only on the abstract
value level. Most televisioo com-
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77ir lo»rl/. MarJi 3, 198). ff IS
•IN DEPTH
commercials:
banned from the air?
merciih don't emphasize the tasu
and cffecti of drinking: rither the)
show people enjoying life and drinking
alcohol.
George Hacker. Ihc national coordinator
of Project SMART - Slop
Marketing Alcohol on Xadio and
Telcvtjon — a major advocate of
the propmed ban, taid. "The
glamorous and glorified images of
alcohol oie are mit'eading impressionable
younjt pcriplt into bcliev Dg
th« alcohol n assovivtcd wUh sue
ccsi in sex. ipmii. His'nes*. and
friendships."
As Wolf pointed out. if advertisers
for Leer and wine advertised
on the functional level and showed
what bappcaal after people used
their product*, alcohol would not
look as appealing. A drank driver
advertising a beer would tut be as
succevsful as an attractive >uppic
would. Wolf commented, "If you
showed the effects, you'd look like a
fool."
Certain groups pushing for the
pasting of a ban arc especially concerned
about commercials in which
celebrities appear who may have a
large Influence on young audiences.
Arnold Fecc of the National Parent •
Teacher Auociation expressed the
contention that the advertisemenu
are "directed at young people who
cannot drink."
"Young people are particularly
affected by alcohol endorsements by
athletes or entertainers." according
to the Comprehensive Care
Corporal km.
If this b the ca*r, the commercials
would be encouraging tccnigers nuc
only tu drink, bu: to break the law
by drink. n| alcoholic beverage*.
With the new law Uiat iv iniendc-1 to
•.umJanluc the drinking age nationally
at 21. ihii would aifeci a
greater proportion of the nation's
youth.
Again the comention cannot be
proven so we arc left with an ongoing
debate. Advertisers contend that
iheir commercials are only meant to
"introduce new products" and
"gain* larger share of the market."
T*y point out that there has been
no causal connection prmen between
broadcast advertisements and
increased consumption of alcohol.
The broadcauers and alcoholic
beverage producers adamantly
rtfiuc to allmv the industry to be put
under any limit ur ban. Doci.'tl B.
Shea, president of the United State*
Brewers Association stated, "To
hav- a legitimate product removed
from a legitimate medium is inappropriate.
It is the same as saying
because 50,000 people are killed in
auto accidents each year you should
ban automobiles advertising."
Professor John Tcnj-e of the
«33 Uascn su u Anton
&U1FHK1KO.CAM112
Department jf Management and
Marketii.; K. SFSl 1 corntnented that
tne cootentiom of the proponents of
the ban are " ridicule a." He ex*
plained. "It depends on us.* or
mUuse. They say people are going
out and getting intoxicated. Sensible
teenagers don't do those kinds of
tilings! People are looking for easy
answers and they don't »tu."
industries havn refused to pay for
such a propose]. "If you say that
counter-ads are necessary, you
assume that the problem is related to
advertising." said Donald Weber or
the CBS Broadcasting Group. "We
don'r think that is the case."
Presently, the broadcasters do
follow certain voluntary restriction
imposed upon themselves. Hard liquor
is nut advertised oo tdevmcu
and radio, only beer and wine are.
Also, alcohclk beverage commercials
do not show people actually
drinking the beverage. They show a
full glass being raised and a half,
empty glass being lowered, but
never the act of drinking.
The United States is not the only
area in which this subject is under
comroversy. Canada has Instituted
limited bans in certain areas. In Ontario,
commercial* dwt emphasize
aicohol with a kurcenful
"lifestyle" have been banned, and
for 14 montru all advertising of
alcoholic beverages in British Columbia
was banned. In a third attempt.
broidcMi commercials were
banned in Manitoba. In none of
"It is the same as saying because
Tengc believes that the commercials
don't influence people to
drink. "I think mow people drink
became ot their involvement with
their peer group*," he Hated.
Instead of a ban of all alcoholic
bevenge commercials, some people
arc proposing "counter*
advertisements" showing the effects
of alcohol consumption. The institution
of such a program would be
considered under the equal time
clause of broukautLig of controver-