PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE TO TEENAGERS

GALA AGM

Don't Moan ... ... ...get on the phone

Useful Publication

Gala Website

Start early to help children combat alcohol saturated TV

Editorial:  PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE TO TEENAGERS

The decision by the Advertising Standards Complaints Board (ASCB) that the Lion's chinhead characters do not appeal to minors in particular gives advertisers permission to continue with advertisements, which nevertheless have high appeal to the under-18's. Principle 4 of the Liquor Advertising Code states that "Liquor advertisements shall not be directed at minors nor have strong or evident appeal to minors in particular."

After GALA complained about a chinheads billboard, Lion commissioned research that surveyed about 100 teenagers and 100 young men to find out their attitudes to the advertisement. A survey of pre-teens would have been instructive too. The research found that:

* 97% of minors recalled the chinheads characters. Of these 71% knew they advertised Lion Red.

* 50% of minors liked or loved the advertisement. Another 35% thought it was okay.

* 71% could spontaneously recall seeing a Lion Red billboard.

* 52% thought the chinheads had strong appeal to kids and young teenagers

* 64% thought the humour appealed to underage drinkers.

* 40% thought the advertisement appealed to children.

These findings indicate fairly strong and evident appeal to minors.

Research on drinking has shown clearly that recall of, and liking for, an advertisement indicates likely future use of that product.

The ASCB decision was based on the findings that the advertisement appealed equally to those over 18, and that 81% of minors thought the advertisement was directed at adults.

Does this mean that it is acceptable for advertisements to attract minors as long as they do not think they are being targeted?

It also implies that it is permissible to advertise to minors if the advertisement does not appeal only to them On this basis Brer Rabbit and Pooh Bear could be used to advertise liquor as they appeal to adults as well as children. It is almost impossible to think of an icon that appeals to minors in particular. It is equally difficult to think of an icon that appeals to young men, but not to children and teenagers.

The chinheads, cartoon-like, are a clever creation that appeals to a wide age range. The ASCB ruling suggests that it is permissible to create an advertisement that appeals to adults, even if there is a large "by-catch" of minors.

Most children want to grow up fast. These advertisements give the impression that drinking is fun, and the gateway to adulthood. Is it any wonder we have teenage drinking problems?

Viola Palmer

GALA AGM

A small but successful AGM was held with Larry Robbins as guest speaker. Larry's address entitled "Limited resources, Unlimited Opportunities-special interest groups and the internet" is on the website. The present committee of Viola Palmer (Chair), Graeme Woodfield (Secretary), Bob Haddon (Treasurer), Phil Groom (Newsletter), Cliff Turner (Complaints), Roger Eccles, Judy McAnulty and Keith Thomas were re-elected.

We do apologise to all those who would have liked to have come for the late notification of the AGM.

Don't Moan ... ... ...get on the phone

A message from Children's Media Watch. If you have seen or heard something you object to, including an advertisement, on TV or radio, go straight to the broadcaster. Every comment is logged. It may take only 10 complaints to make a change. It is a quicker and more responsive process than going though the official complaints procedures. You don't need only to complain, you can also give compliments!

You do not need to give your name.

Television New Zealand      09 916 7000
Television 3      09 377 9730
Sky Television      09 579 0190
Radio New Zealand      09 303 3055

Useful Publication

"A Decade of Drinking, Auckland 1990 to 1999" by S. Casswell and K Bhatta, from the Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit, University of Auckland.

This report is a summary of annual surveys in the Auckland region. It records the changes in drinking patterns, availability of alcohol, drinking places and attitudes to alcohol.

The outstanding statistic was the information that the amount drunk by 14 to 17 year olds on one occasion had gone from 2-3 drinks in 1990, to 5-6 a decade later.

This decade coincides almost exactly to the introduction of broadcast liquor advertising. (Editor's italics.)

The book is available free from APHRU, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland.

Gala Website

Have you visited GALA's web site yet? ( ;-) - webmaster) In June 472 people did. We have had some wonderful feedback including the following:

"Acknowledging your leading role within the field of alcohol advertising, I wonder if I might use some of the information from your website."---alcohol researcher.

"I want to thank you for the information on this site. I am doing an essay on alcohol advertising for our sixth form English class."---- college student.

"You folk are doing a great job. I've seen first hand the destructive effects of alcohol on a close family member, and yet TV and billboard advertising would have us believe that alcohol enhances the quality of life. What a cynical manipulation of the truth."---- newspaper editor.

Start early to help children combat alcohol saturated TV
By Renee Hobbs, associate professor of Communication, and director of the Media Literacy Project, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts.

My daughter has already learned a lot about beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks-and she's only 8 years old. Long before she will have her first surreptitious experience with drinking, Rachel will have learned quite a bit about what happens when people drink alcohol.

Since my husband and I use alcohol occasionally in our home, Rachel has acquired a lot of beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about alcoholic beverages from us, her parents. But she's learned even more from her experience with the media. The vivid images of daring, young, sexy, happy drinkers are ubiquitous in our society. A survey reported in Harpers magazine found that children could name more brands of beer than names of American presidents. During prime-time television, two-thirds of programs contain portrayals of drinking or verbal references to it.

Whether we like it or not, media exposure provides some of the most vital and potent information about how our society works, what the social and cultural norms are, and how people do or should behave.

That's why television in particular, is so important to children ages 8 to 15. It's a powerful vehicle for learning about adult behaviour. Alcohol advertising is one of the most important genres to explore when the goal is to increase young people's resiliency to substance abuse by strengthening their media literacy skills.  Teens in one large-scale survey overwhelmingly responded that while they were aware that advertising makes drinking look better than it is, it still influenced them to drink more.

So we cant just trivialize the messages children and young people receive about alcohol. We have to help them learn to critically analyze these messages. Media education can help young people re-interpret alcohol advertising by providing them with an increased understanding of the reasons why the world depicted through the media is sometimes distorted and inaccurate.

Paediatricians can engage patients and their parents in basic media education by routinely asking about the child's television viewing habits and recommending that children watch no more than one to two hours per day, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

With your own children you can discuss the purpose of commercials (to sell products) and the enormous financial investment of companies to make drinking alcoholic beverages look attractive and without negative consequences.

Rachel and I talk about how much it costs to make an alcohol commercial. We discuss the way advertisers use images, sounds and language to build connections between powerful feelings (like risk-taking, being mature, sexy, funny or popular) and the product. We talk about why lizards, frogs, dogs and other animals are used to capture our attention-and why we like these images-because they make us laugh!

We flip through the pages of magazines, tear out alcohol ads, and change the slogans to communicate a message that more closely matches our family's beliefs, attitudes and values about alcohol. What are they? Use only after you have reached age 21. Use alcohol at home or in a safe place. Enjoy alcohol but be careful not to drink too much. Don't drive after drinking. Don't drink to escape a bad mood or bad feelings.

A recent study by Erica Austin of Washington State University shows that third-graders (8 year olds) who received media education in school had significantly different attitudes about alcohol use than students who didn't get such education.

At age 8 Rachel is learning to ask questions about everything she watches, reads and listens to, and that's the best skill to have for life in the Information Age.

Slightly abridged from the American Academy of Pediatrics, AAP News, March 1998

The Questionnaire

We thank you for the excellent response to the questionnaire that went with the last newsletter. Your comments were most appreciated and we will endeavour to take your suggestions on board.

All supporters receive free copies of Gala News.

If you know of anyone who'd like to support us, please forward us their name and address and we'll put them on the mailing list.