Alcohol Advertising in the UK: A Critical Study of Ethical Issues and Debates - Essay Example

Alcohol Advertising in the UK: A Critical Study of Ethical Issues and Debates s Submitted by s: Introduction In terms of business, advertising is a type of marketing communication that is used to encourage, persuade or manipulate groups of people to take some action or continue with the actions that they were taking (Percy, 2008, p. 82). In majority of cases, the outcome that is sought to influence the actions of the customer in terms of profitable contribution even though other forms are also popular (Hansen and Christensen, 2007, p. 82). This particular type of work is in a category that is referred as effective labour and the commercial advertisers more of than not seek to elicit increased consumption of the products that they promote through branding that entails linking the product to particular qualities in the mind of the consumers. Alcohol advertising is the proportion that is associated with intoxicating drinks by the companies that produce it by the use of several types of media. Alcohol advertising as well as tobacco advertising are considered to be the most highly controlled types of marketing and in some of the countries, there are bans on some or all the advertisements that are associated with alcohol (Frith and Mueller, 2010, p. 187). The advertisement of alcoholic beverages and the consumption of these products has a distinct connection according to health agencies, scientific research as well as universities, though there is no concrete proof that advertising of the alcoholic beverages causes people to take it more rather than simply exhibiting more public demand. Many of the people that are interested in these advertisements are of the opinion that the alcohol advertisements and campaigns merely increase the market share of the producer as well as the loyalty to the brand by the consumers. The Advertising Standards Authority The Advertising Standards Authority is an organization that is that self regulates itself that operates in the marketing industry in the UK (Kitchen and Proctor, 2001, p 17) and the organization is non-statutory and therefore the organization has no mandate to enforce or interpret legislation but the code of advertising practice widely exhibits the legislations in many of the cases. The organization does not receive funding and assistance from the government but they impose tariffs on the marketing segments of the economy. The role that is assigned to it is the make sure that the content of advertisements is regulated, sales promotions as well as direct marketing in the United Kingdom through the investigation of the complaints that are made about advertisements, direct marketing or the sales promotions and making the decision whether the advertisements comply with the standards codes. These codes specify that before there is a distribution or prior to submitting communication that is associated with marketing so that it can be published, the marketers must have evidence that is documentary that will prove all the claims regardless of whether they are direct or implied which are capable of objective substantiation. Further, there should be no communication that is associated with marketing which can mislead or have the potential to mislead by being inaccurate, ambiguous, exaggerated or omit some of the issues. The Committee of Advertising Practice was founded by the Advertising Association in 1961 and was mandated with the drafting of the British Code of Advertising and in 1962, the industry established the Advertising Standards Authority that was supposed to deal with that advertisements had breached the new code (Cronin, 2004, p. 37). The Advertising Standards Authority was operating under the leadership of a chairperson that was supposed to have no stake in any way that was connected to the industry. A very short after the inception of the Advertising Standards Authority, the Molony Committee looked at the proposals to introduce a new system that was meant to control the advertising industry by statute but eventually rejected it. The committee reported its satisfaction with the fact that the industry was in a position to be regulated effectively from within by the Advertising Standards Authority. A comment that was within the report and guarded gave the warning that the system that was self-regulatory heavily depended on the satisfactory functioning of the Advertisements Standards Authority as well as the upholding of standards, which are acceptable. Alcohol advertising The target audience that advertisements that are associated with alcoholic products focus on has undergone a transformation over the years and as a result, some of the brands target specific group or demographic. Some of the drinks are usually seen as drinks that are taken by the male members of the society and these include beverages like whiskies and beer while there are others that are strongly associated with the female members of the society. Some of the brands are particularly created so that they can attract the people who in the normal circumstances would not drink that specific kind of beverage. One of the areas that have been the focus of criticism in the alcohol industry as well as stringent legislation is the attention that they have placed on the young people (Babor, 2010, p. 1-21). At the centre of this is the creation of the sweet and coloured beverages that are alcoholic and have names that are likely to attract the younger audiences. Nevertheless, a lot of government reports as well as other independent reports have not been in a position to provide a backing to these claims. There have been a number of disputes that are linked to whether alcohol advertisements target the teens since there are many advertisements that make the consumption of alcohol look like it is a good and enjoyable act. The adverts associated with marketing alcohol are viewed all over the place and are associated with the promotion of events as well as concerts while being all over the internet. Most of the websites that are operated by the vendors have a regulation that the people who are visiting them should be more than 21 years of age but there are no other restrictions once the person has entered their date of birth. The advertisement contain phrases which are catchy that make drinking the beverages that are being marketed and campaigned for look trendy but the negative implications that result from the excessive use of these advertisements and how they could cause a lot of harm. There are allegations that the consumption of alcohol by the people who are not of legal age has a correlation with the exposure that the young people have to the advertisements that promote these beverages. Many of the cities and towns have been forced to appreciate the impact that the advertisements that are associated with the promotion of the alcoholic beverages on teenagers and these advertisements have been prohibited on public transport. It is therefore hard to make specific allegations that are directed at the exposure of the youth to these kinds of advertisements but it is imperative that to identify the ways that will make these claims limited. Conversely, the companies that deal with the alcoholic products being advertised do not perceive their advertisements to be directed at the people who are not of legal age and they are of the opinion that they should not be blamed if there is an indirect targeting of the minors. They state that companies as well as businesses and greatly dependent on advertising and they are not in a position to do anything in the event that the young people view these advertisements and they also put huge investments into the prevention of alcohol as well as awareness programs annually. Whether, the attention to the young people by the companies that advertise their alcoholic beverages is intentional or not, the young people come across alcohol advertising through a variety of media through the radio, television as well as other forms of media that include the print media. Almost a half of all the advertisements that are watched by this segment of the population annually are those that are associated with alcoholic beverages. Research therefore has to address the question of whether advertising has an effect on the ultimate consumption as far as the young people are concerned. Banned beer advertisements in the United Kingdom The advertising rules that exist in the United Kingdom are considered to among the most stringent in the world and they are based on the evidence that addresses the connection that exists between advertising alcohol beverages and the awareness that the young people as well as the attitudes that they have towards drinking the alcoholic drinks. Consequently, rules that are put into effect by the Advertising Standards Authority were considerable made more stringent in 205 and underwent review as well as the subjection to complete public consultation in 2009. The strict rules that are applicable across all the media are obligatory and compulsory and place specific weight on the protection of the young people in that the advertisements must not target the young people or have any content that is likely to catch their attention by associating irresponsible behavior, sexual attractiveness and social success. The television as well as radio advertisement rules entail stringent controls that are concerned with the placement of content the advertising of the alcoholic related products. Advertisements that market and promote alcoholic beverages are prohibited from appearing in the programmes that are commissioned for or aimed at audiences that are younger than 18 and also the programmes that are likely to get the attention of the audiences that have not reached the age of 18. Advertisement for Kronenbourg 1664 The advertisement for Kronenbourg 1664 that featured Eric Canton who was previously a Manchester United footballer was banned for misleading the consumers it targeted and the British television advertisement as well as the advertisements that were linked with it used the footballer to generate ridicule at the celebrity culture that is associated with the footballers. Through the advertisement, Cantona who was also a France international declares that if there is any other better tasting beer that is French, then they will eat their berets even though the preferred analogy would have been caps that are flat since the beer that they state to be French is actually brewed in Manchester by Heineken. The Advertising Standards Authority decided to place a ban on the advertisement because it was misleading the people who drank that beer about the true origins of the beer that they were promoting. In the advertisement, Cantona states that things are different in Alsace in that the farmers that deal with hops there get the same treatment that the footballers that are in Britain are entitled to. He states that they are actually idolized and are living legends since they grow hops, which is used to make the Kronenbourg beer while being responsible for the supreme taste associated with it. Investigations showed the beverage was not manufactured in France and it constituted a minute percentage of the four kinds used. Heineken on its part insisted that the advertisements that it was carrying were intended to highlight that the beer has a French heritage as well as ingredients. At the same time, they stated that there is no danger that is posed to the viewers if they are misled since the advertisement carries small print text that stated that the beer was brewed in the United Kingdom. These advertisements were ruled to be misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority and consequently banned since they went against the codes that are set by the Authority. “Let them be beer” advertisement The advertisement that was used for the Let There Be Beer campaign involved a man that was anxiously being acquainted with the father of his girlfriend as well as a woman who was overwhelmed by tasks in the office prior to them reaching for a glass of beer. The Alcohol concern Youth Advertising Council made the allegations that the advertisements made the implication that the alcoholic beverages had the potential to make contributions to the confidence levels and the popularity that an individual might have. The advertisement also implied that beer was a central component as far as social success was concerned while portraying alcohol to be indispensable and as having therapeutic characteristics. The companies that were linked with the advertisement stated that the advertisement was supposed to be a celebration of role that beer mainly plays in life but in a manner that is light-hearted and humorous. The companies that generated the advertisements were of the opinion that no evidence in the storylines that showed that the advertisement were contributing to the popularity of an individual as well as their confidence. According to the Advertising Standards Authority the storyline that involves the man meeting the father of his girlfriend could be seen as implying that alcohol has the potential to contribute to the popularity and confidence of the person that is taking the alcohol. Up to the point when the beers came into the picture, both the couple were very nervous and the situation that existed was awkward as well as uncomfortable. When the beers came into the picture, the whole situation changed significantly and there was calm on the faces of the man and the confidence levels rose and he can be seen telling jokes and laughing. Consequently, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the advertisement could not be broadcasted in the same form that it was in. The Young’s Bitter Billboard The beer advertisement that was intended for the promotion of the Young’s bitter brand of beer had to be banned because it linked the consumption of the beer it was promoting with sexual success. The poster consisted of a man with the head of a ram who was surrounded by women who are dressed in scanty clothing and with a phrase that stated, “This is a Ram’s World.” The Advertising Standards Authority stated that this and another poster that had been developed by the same brand of beer went against the rules, which were established and therefore were supposed to be withdrawn but the company denied that the advertisements implied that the drinking of its beer was associated in any way with sexual success. According to the Advertisements Standards Authority, featuring women on the poster showed that the ram personified the people who drank this beer, which was the centre of the attention from the women. Another poster by the same company depicted the same figure but this time it was dressed in a smart way and way surrounded by people that were well dressed in a club. The company was warned by the Advertisement Standards Authority to make sure that is does not create depictions of social seduction in any of the adverts that it would come up with in the future. The tightening of the rules that are associated with the advertisement of alcohol products meant that the campaign by Young’s Bitter could not continue to run. Conclusion Most of the companies that are in business and deal with products that are related to alcohol as well as tobacco have a code of ethics that they are supposed to abide to in the process of carrying out their operations. This code is supposed to guide the relationship that these companies have with other companies as well as their customers and other entities, which might have dealing with the company. Therefore, the companies that deal with products are supposed to make sure that they maintain that relationship between them and the customers by ensuring that the advertisements that they carry are not directed at the wrong audience and also the content that is in these advertisements is not misleading. Bibliography Babor, T. 2010, Alcohol. 1st ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Cronin, A. 2004, Advertising myths, 1st ed. Routledge, London. Frith, K. & Mueller, B. 2010, Advertising and societies, 1st ed. Peter Lang. New York, NY. Hansen, F. & Christensen, S. 2007, Emotions, advertising and consumer choice, 1st ed. Copenhagen Business School Press, Denmark. Kitchen, P. & Proctor, T. 2001. The informed student guide to marketing, 1st ed. Thomson Learning, London. Percy, L. 2008, Strategic integrated marketing communication, 1st ed. Butterworth- Heinemann, Amsterdam. Read More