Liquor Ads:, What do They Influenced?

      In an article in AdWeek, I ran across this interesting article about a study done at the University of Texas, Austin.  It has found that the effect of advertising does not make people want to drink or drink any more, but rather seems to effect what they are drinking.   This is for me a good thing, it means hat the government does not need to get into the media business again and limit what Americans can see in the media.

 

   A new study of alcohol consumption and advertising from 1971 to present found per capita drinking remained flat. 

     Alcohol marketers have two reasons to feel good about the findings of a new academic study on advertising impact.   For one, their money seems to be well spent on generating new or loyal customers. But at the same time, their ads don't seem to be turning America into a nation of drunks.   A new study from the University of Texas at Austin, led by advertising professor Gary Wilcox, suggests ads have little impact on how much wine, beer or liquor people consume.   The study looked at alcohol sales between 1971 and 2011 and found that during the 40-year time frame, per capita consumption remained relatively unchanged. In that time period, the study reports, alcohol advertising in the U.S. increased more than 400 percent. 

     "Relating these findings to previous research reveals a consistency in that there is either no relationship or a weak one between advertising and aggregate sales," the report states. "Over this time period, beer sales have exhibited a downward trend since the early 1990s, while wine and liquor have increased their share of total alcohol sales. This is despite large increases in advertising expenditures across all three categories of alcohol."   While advertising might have little impact on how much we drink, the study says it's still safe to assume that ads are effective at guiding brand preference.

     

    "Although criticisms of alcohol advertising and promotional methods abound, remedies that would restrict or overly regulate such communication activities usually do not have the desired effect of reducing consumption," wrote Wilcox, the study's lead professor. "Instead, a more logical alternative would be to communicate as much information as possible to the public about the subject and encourage all viewpoints so our society makes an autonomous, rational choice regarding alcohol consumption."

 Read More at http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/alcohol-ads-increased-400-over-40-years-americans-arent-drinking-more-163668

 

     I found this article very enlightening and on that is worth reading.  I'm glad to see that there are people in this country that believe that we are a nation of sheep that will follow one after another right into the sea and our demise.   Advertising is a means of communication of wares and not a hypnotic trance that makes us stupid.   ;o)