(The mystery of alcohol advertisements among the youths)
Advertising is a major marketing strategy for any company. Companies prefer advertisements as the most critical and reliable communication strategy to attract customers. Although, advertising helps the company to grow and experience extensive benefits through a large customer pool, there are various demerits that come with it. There lacks proper control of the products that companies advertize. Alcohol advertisements are major concerns for individuals as well as the society. There are massive effects that come with the alcohol advertisements. The main victims of the advertisements are the youths. The media have identified unique market among the youths, and they are ready to exploit it completely. The advertisements are developed in a unique way that will always present alcohol as a very attractive commodity. They make the commodities interesting to people, making people wish to consume them. The effects of alcohol advertisements to the youths is a major concern since it has a critical influence on the development of the youths. The youths are very critical in the development of the society. Therefore, their wellbeing would define the success of the society.
It would be wise to consider what makes alcohol advertisements attractive to youths. There are various factors that the advertisers consider when they develop advertisements. The first consideration is the attractiveness of the advertisement. They have considered youths as a good target for the products, and they would do everything to attract them. First, the advertisers have identified the main interests for youths. They believe in executing the necessary strategies that will ensure the interest is covered in the advertisement. For example, they have considered sports as one of the major interests for the youths. Through the consideration, they have developed unique adverts that attract the people. Football is a major sport among the youths, and they will always flock in any entertainment center to enjoy the view of the game (Center for Science in the Public interest 01). The media target such areas and the stations that air those games with the aim of achieving a market among the youths.
Youths are known of their experimenting nature. The media are well aware of the vice and intends to use it in ensuring the youths consume the product. The media will make an advert highly attractive with inclusion of a special element in the advert. They are unlikely to live out the element that will make the business for them. If an advert talks of a special feeling out of the consumption of the alcohol product, the youths are likely to run for a drink. They would wish to have a special experience. As a result, the youths find themselves already in the trap, and it becomes extensively difficult for them to move on or define the necessary step towards rejecting alcohol. Some of the elements that the media uses to show the uniqueness of an alcohol commodity is addictive. Therefore, the youths are unlikely to give up on the consumption of the commodity. The move marks exclusive success for the company since it fetches a wider market. The media will always come up with new strategies that will attract the youths and expose them to the massive negative effects of the alcoholic commodities. Addiction to the alcoholic products is advantageous to the companies since they will have a market to sustain (Chen et al 561). Therefore, it will be extremely difficult for the companies to stop the advertisements.
Despite alcohol being a harmful drug, it contains to be marketed through the media following the affirmation of the social and religion norms. There are numerous cultural practices that support the consumption of alcohol. In some societies, alcohol consumption is a common thing. The members of the society believe that the alcohol is a leisure drug. By this, the drug is taken as a common commodity and everyone has a right to enjoy it. For example, in some societies alcohol in the form of various commodities is part of everyday meal. The society members must take a glass of the commodity after every meal. In return, the media find a room for making advertisements for the alcohol manufacturing companies. When the companies make the advertisements, they do not consider that there are youths watching the adverts. As a result, a lot of youths get exposed to the drug at their tender age. It becomes extremely hard for the parents to control the youths from testing the worth of the drugs. Also, some religions use alcoholic commodities such as wines in their religious services. It is a sign that the church support low levels of alcohol consumption. The fact is the proper definition of the risks that come with the minimal allowance for alcohol consumption. Following the minimal allowance, many youths will turn to alcohol consumption. They get an opportunity to experience the extensive effect of consuming more of the alcohol. The belief will influence many companies to advertize their alcoholic commodities to the public. They are sure of the support of the religious groups as well as social platforms (Klooster, 02). Therefore, the social norms must be taken with the seriousness that they deserve as a way to prevent their extensive influence to increase in alcohol consumption among the youths.
With time, the alcohol advertisement budgets continue to rise. In 2013, alcohol advertisers spent approximately $2 billion on alcohol advertisements (Safer 02).The advertisements mainly took place through the television, radio, and prints. The amount of money that the advertisers are using to attract customers is the proper indication of the benefits that they are getting from the activity. They will continue to invest more in the business since there are massive returns. They have already identified the youths as reliable consumers of the drug. They believe that they already have a market where their products would fetch massive benefits for them. Their interest on the youths will continue to attract more income if nothing is done to sensitize the youths on the danger of excessive alcohol consumption. The media only care about the income and not the outcome of the advertisements. At some point, their business does not respect ethics, and they tend to work according to the merits that they obtain from the goods that they deal within a specific period. They are only out for sole benefits they obtain, but they remain disrespectful of the challenges that come with their advertisements (Safer 03). If the youths remain insensitive of the danger that the alcohol commodities would cause them, they will continue to be used as success builders during the pain in distress.
The government, social groups, and parents have critical roles to play in reducing the extent of alcohol advertisements. The three bodies are mainly keen on the challenges that the citizens may face in a society. The government grants the media licenses for operations, and it should monitor every activity that the media undertake in their bid for advertisements. There is concrete need for the control of the activities that the media undertake in their advertisements. The government must consider the effects that the advertisements would have among the youths. Social groups help in defining unity in a society (Smith and David 9).They help in indicating the effects that come with certain behaviors in the society. They fight for equality and wellbeing of the members of the society. In the case, of the increasing alcohol advertisements, they may play a critical role in influencing how the media apply certain principles that define concrete success for the advertisements they make. The groups will sensitize the media on the need to remain considerate of the ethics of their work. They must portray excellence on how certain activities take place and what would be the main effect of their inconsiderate advertisement behaviors. The parents are aware of the effects that the advertisements would have among their children (Safer 03). They are already aware of the pain that comes with them finding their children consuming alcoholic commodities at tender age (Smith and David 6). Therefore, they would push for any ban for some alcohol advertisements.
The issue of alcohol advertisements and their effects to the youths must remain a critical element for discussion. Therefore, many people are likely to engage in extensive research on the effects of alcohol advertisements among the youths. The government would require to carry out extensive research in the topic as it wishes to identify the massive challenges that come with the excessive consumption of the alcoholic commodities among the youths. There is a need to define proper strategies through which the government will understand the extent to which the advertisements affect the wellbeing of the youths as well as the entire society. The government has a role to protect its citizens from any form of manipulation or exploitation by anyone. There will be perfect need to establish the effects that come with the advertisements, and the government will have a reliable platform to define conditions for the media. If there is continuous research on the effects of the alcohol advertisements, it will be extremely easy to obtain the demerits that come with the practice. Since the media would play a critical role in executing the research, it will be extremely easy to define the challenges that come with the activity. It will be easy to convince the media to avoid excessive advertisements for the alcoholic products.
Works Cited
Center for Science in the Public interest."Center for Science in the Public interest."Alcohol Advertising, Televised Sports, and Underage Youth. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
Chen, Meng-Jinn, Joel Grube, Melina Bersamin, Elizabeth Waiters, and Deborah Keefe. Alcohol Advertising: What Makes It Attractive to Youth?.Journal of Health Communication 10 (2005): 553-565. Print.
Klooster, Ten. Communication Science.Alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption amongst youth, the influence of social norms and religion.N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
Safer, Henry.“Alcohol Advertising and Youth”. Journal of Studies on Alcohol14.2002 (2002): 173-181. Print.
Smith, Lesley, and David Foxcroft. “The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behavior in young people: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies.” BMC Public Health 9.51. (2009): 1-11. Print.
