Ads Against Drinking Speak Only Faintly
The amount of money spent by alcohol companies on television advertising grew by nearly a third from 2001 to 2005, rising from $780 million to more than $1 billion, according to a report just released by Georgetown University’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. But at the same time, liquor companies shaved about $2 million from their yearly spending on public service ads.
In particular, ads that discourage underage drinking were sharply curtailed. In 2001, such ads were about 1/58 as watched as ads for alcohol, as measured in gross ratings points, a unit that combines how many people an ad reaches and how frequently each person sees it. By 2005, ads for alcohol were 338 times as watched as underage drinking service announcements.
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