Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads in Magazines Declined from 2001 to 2005

Substantial alcohol advertising remains in magazines with disproportionate

youth audiences

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Youth exposure to alcohol
 advertising in magazines declined 49% from 2001 to 2005, according to a new
 report released today by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY)
 at Georgetown University.
     The study also found, however, that a substantial portion of the
 alcohol industry's advertising remains in magazines with disproportionate
 youth (12-20 year-old) audience composition: 44% of advertisements and 50%
 of spending in 2005. Magazines with disproportionate youth audience
 composition were defined as those with youth audiences greater than 15%,
 the proportion of youth ages 12-20 in the general population age 12 and
 above.
     Most alcohol companies have successfully shifted their advertising to
 publications that meet the voluntary maximum of 30% youth audience
 composition adopted by the beer and distilled spirits trade associations in
 2003. According to CAMY's report, It Can Be Done: Reductions in Youth
 Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in Magazines, 2001-2005, less than 1% of
 alcohol advertisements and alcohol advertising dollars in 2005 were in
 magazines with youth readership exceeding the industry standard, down from
 a high of 11% in 2002.
     Also today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
 published an article using CAMY data in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
 Report (MMWR). Figures in the two studies differ slightly because CAMY
 analyzed per capita exposure while CDC reported total exposure for each age
 group. The CDC publication emphasized the need for the industry's standards
 to be strengthened to prevent advertising in youth-oriented magazines, and
 called for continued independent monitoring of alcohol marketing to youth
 to further assess changes in youth exposure to alcohol advertising in
 magazines and other media.
     "The alcohol industry has done a good job of following its voluntary
 standard when it comes to advertising in magazines," said David Jernigan,
 executive director of CAMY, "but the standard itself is not strong enough
 to adequately protect youth from needless exposure to this advertising."
     The CAMY report analyzed 16,635 alcohol advertisements placed in
 national magazines between 2001 and 2005 at a cost of nearly $1.7 billion.
 The report also found that:
     -- Alcohol advertising in magazines declined overall, but youth exposure
        fell substantially more than adult exposure.  From 2001 to 2005, youth
        exposure fell by 49%, while the number of alcohol advertisements placed
        per year fell by 20%, and adult exposure dropped by 30%. These declines
        reflect a trend of alcohol advertisers moving from magazines to
        television.
     -- As CAMY has previously reported, during this same period youth exposure
        to alcohol advertising on television increased by 41%, so that combined
        youth exposure to alcohol advertising in these two media changed very
        little between 2001 and 2005.
     -- In 2005, advertising placed in magazines with disproportionate youth
        audiences accounted for more than 82% of total youth exposure to
        alcohol advertising in magazines, but only 55% of adult exposure.
     -- The majority of alcohol brands (127 out of 201 brands) had either none
        or less than half of their advertising in publications with
        disproportionate youth readerships in 2005.  However, 36 brands had all
        of their advertising, and 38 brands had the majority of their
        advertising in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Stuff and
        Maxim that were more likely to be read by youth than adults.
     -- More than half of youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines
        came from 18 brands, 16 of which exposed youth ages 12 to 20 more
        effectively to their advertising than adults age 21 and over.  These 18
        brands accounted for approximately 36% of all alcohol advertising
        spending in magazines in 2005.
     In 2003, the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine
 recommended that alcohol companies move their advertising toward magazines
 with a maximum of 15% youth audiences, a figure roughly proportionate to
 the presence of persons ages 12 to 20 in the population age 12 and above.
 At that time, alcohol industry trade associations changed their voluntary
 youth audience maximum from 50% to 30%.
     In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Sober Truth on
 Preventing Underage Drinking Act (or STOP Act). Among other things, the
 STOP Act requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to
 report annually on rates of exposure of youth to positive and negative
 messages about alcohol in the mass media.
     In March of this year, the U.S. Surgeon General called on alcohol
 companies to ensure that "the placement of alcohol advertising, promotions
 and other means of marketing do not disproportionately expose youth to
 messages about alcohol."
     "Alcohol advertisers have shown they can change their practices," said
 Dr. Jernigan, "but there is still more to be done to shield youth from the
 influence of alcohol advertising." He added, "This is the 22nd report on
 youth exposure to alcohol advertising issued by CAMY since its founding in
 2002. In that time, youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines has
 fallen substantially, and industry associations have adopted clearer
 guidelines for where and how ads should be placed. Based on experience to
 date, ongoing monitoring and reporting of alcohol industry advertising
 practices will be helpful in documenting and influencing the behavior of
 these advertisers and reducing youth exposure to alcohol advertising."
     About the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth
     The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University
 monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention
 and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of
 America's youth. The Center is supported by grants from The Pew Charitable
 Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. More information on the
 Center and a full text of this report can be found at http://www.camy.org.
 
 

SOURCE Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth