You know what goes well with a cold beer on a hot summer evening? Effective self-regulation!
A recent FTC report has good words for the alcohol industry in its campaign to eliminate advertising that appeals to minors (summarized here). Underage drinking is a “leading public health and social problem in the United States,” and the report found that the alcohol industry has largely complied with its voluntary placement of advertisements standard.
This is the third FTC report on alcohol self-regulation. The first report, in 1999, was somewhat critical of the industry’s rule that half the audience for an advertisement be of Legal Drinking Age (LDA) and led to a 2003 report announcing a new rule that the intended audience be at least 70% LDA. The 2008 report provides extensive data on where the alcohol industry spends its advertising money, with 42% of expenses spent on traditional media (TV, print, etc.), 40% to wholesalers and retailers, 16% on events, and 2% for other ventures like the Internet. The industry has apparently done a good job of meeting its 70% standard, with 92% of traditional media advertisements hitting the mark and 97% of total alcohol advertising “impressions” (individual exposures to advertisements) resulting from placements that met the 70% target. Also, “85% of the aggregate audience for the . . . suppliers’ advertising consisted of adults above the LDA.”
The report is not without some recommendations. First, the FTC recommends applying the requirement that the audience for alcohol advertisement be at least 70% LDA to event sponsorship. This will be an increase from current practices that require merely “most” of the audience be LDA and that advertisements not have a particular appeal to underage people. It is unclear how this will apply to stadium sponsorships such as that of the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Milwaukee Brewers; if it does apply to such general promotions, there may be some problems with the industry voluntarily adopting this recommendation. On the other hand, the Brewers did remove Bernie Brewer’s plunge into a giant beer mug and replace it with a non-alcohol related slide, so the industry may be able to adjust. The report also discusses several potential improvements to Internet advertising, such as expanding the present practice of not allowing users to go back and change their birth date after being blocked, strengthening the use of age-verification technologies for online sales of alcohol, and extending the 70% standard to Internet advertising.
Commissioner Harbour released a separate statement, both concurring and dissenting in part. Harbour generally agreed that the industry is doing a good job, but was greatly concerned about the “Mardi Gras” pop culture we have nowadays that glorifies drinking. Accordingly, she would increase the LDA requirement from 70% to 75%.
The alcohol industry has demonstrated a willingness and ability to self-regulate its advertising practices to help curb underage drinking. This industry provides a strong example of how an industry can work with the FTC to effectively self-regulate.
