A discussion about alcohol advertising and sponsorship raised its head in a rather indirect sort of way over the last couple of days. I'm a pretty big rugby fan, any of you who follow me on twitter will have noticed a not insignificant number of tweets about Leinster. Leinster play in two European competitions, both sponsored by alcoholic drinks manufacturers - Heineken and Magners (or Bulmers as it's known in Ireland. The Magners League is a competition featuring teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy and is about ten years old now. For five of those ten years it has bee sponsored by Magners but they announced in the past few days that they'll be ending their sponsorship at the end of the current season, which finishes in about a month. So the search is on for a new sponsor - not the easiest of tasks in the current economic climate, but that's not the point of this blog.
On various rugby forums and blogs people have started to discuss possible new sponsors and who they'd like to see as a sponsor. But people are also speculating as to why Magners have ended their sponsorship. One possible reason being thrown about is that it's quite possible that in a few years time (or maybe even less) alcohol sponsorship of sports events across Europe will be banned, similar to the current situation in France, and Magners are just preparing in advance for this. This in turn has caused quite a few people to say that they are pleased that Magners are pulling out, and they hope that another alcohol brand doesn't take over, because alcohol destroys so many lives.
This got me thinking about the role advertising, and sponsorship in particular, plays in fueling our excessive drinking culture. There's no doubt that in Ireland we have a big drinking problem, both with underage drinkers and binge drinking, and something really does need to be done about it, but I think that pointing the finger at advertising is just going for the easy target. Of course drinks retailers and manufacturers and the people who advertise their brands have a duty to be responsible, encourage responsible drinking and to discourage underage and binge drinking, that goes without saying. I can't speak for other countries because I don't know the regulations there but in Ireland there is a very strict code to which all advertising must adhere when it comes to alcohol (Central Copy Clearance Ireland or CCCI for those who don't know it). I'm not saying this code is perfect but it does keep all alcohol advertising up to a certain standard and ensures that it doesn't appeal to youngsters and limits how exciting or fun drinking can appear to be. In college I've worked on a few briefs that had to comply with it and it does it's best to make drinking to be a thoroughly unenjoyable experience.
I think society's problems with alcohol are much more deep-rooted and far more complicated than just over-exposure to advertising and trying to solve those problems requires looking at far more than just restricting or banning advertising and sponsorship. Like I said advertising and sponsorship are the easy targets, just like reducing pub opening hours, which is another pointless exercise in my opinion. I'd be curious to know if there have been any studies into the effect the ban on alcohol advertising in France (where the Heineken Cup is known as the H-Cup) has had.
People have made the point that the real effects of a ban on alcohol advertising and sponsorship won't be seen for another 20 or 30 years, as it's changing the mindset of a whole generation and that's something that takes an awful long time. This is very true and must be remembered when discussing the issue, but I would be of the opinion, and feel free to disagree with me, that if you ban alcohol advertising and sponsorship you will do very little to sort out the problems with alcohol in this country.
I'm not saying that advertisers can completely wash their hands of the whole situation. It's very important for them to acknowledge and accept the role they play in the whole drinking fabric of society and to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that they act responsible. But ban advertising outright and all you're doing is putting a plaster over a gushing wound.
I don't disagree for one second that it can cause huge problems and can ruin lives. I've seen first hand the chaos it can cause for individuals and families but, like all things, it is safe and enjoyable in moderation and this needs to be at the core of any efforts to solve the problem. Moderation is most likely the best approach to take when it comes to consuming alcohol as well as advertising it. Banning alcohol will hardly solve the problem (it works so well for drugs doesn't it?) and neither will banning the advertising of alcohol.
I don't have all the answers. In fact I don't think I have any of the answers, but I do know that often the most obvious answer isn't the right one and in this case I think the most obvious answer to our drinking problem is to target alcohol advertising.
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