Amount of Televised Alcohol Advertising Exposure and the Quantity of Alcohol Consumed by Youth

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Objective: Although studies demonstrate that exposure to brand-specific alcohol advertising is associated with an increased likelihood of youth consuming particular brands, the relationship between quantity of brand-specific advertising exposure and quantity of brandspecific consumption has not been firmly established. Method: Using the Alcohol Brand Research Among Underage Drinkers (ABRAND) national sample of 1,031 young drinkers (ages 13-20), this study examined the relationship between their aggregated past-year exposure to advertising (in adstock units, a measure based on gross rating points) for 61 alcohol brands that advertised on the 20 most popular nonsports television programs viewed by underage youth and their aggregated total consumption of those same brands during the past 30 days. Predictive models adjusted for other media exposure, predictors of youth's alcohol consumption, and the consumption of brands not advertised on the 20 shows. Results: For the fully adjusted models, each 100 adstock unit increase in exposure (about 1 SD) was associated with an increase of 5.9 drinks (95% CI [0.9, 11.0 drinks]) consumed during the past 30 days among those with less than 300 units of advertising exposure, and an increase of 55.7 drinks (95% CI [13.9, 97.4 drinks]) among those with 300 or more adstock units of exposure. Conclusions: Among underage youth, the quantity of brand-specific advertising exposure is positively associated with the total quantity of consumption of those advertised brands, even after controlling for the consumption of non-advertised brands. Future research should examine exposure-consumption relationships longitudinally and in other media. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 77, 723-729, 2016)

Alcohol Marketing and Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Behaviors: A Systematic Review of Cross-Sectional Studies

“…For example, a British study reported positive associations between seeing alcohol advertising on television, in movies, and in magazines with past-month drinking frequency ( Gunter et al, 2009 ). Similarly, two American studies found positive associations between seeing alcohol advertising on television, assessed using ad stock data, and past-month brand-specific consumption frequency ( Ross et al, 2015 ) and quantity ( Naimi et al, 2016 ). As with other alcohol use outcomes, many of the studies also found null associations for other media types or when using different measures of exposure.…”

“…Data were collected from 1980 to 2015, and samples ranged from 89 to ∼63,000 participants. Of the studies in the review, 11 used objective measures of alcohol marketing exposure (e.g., ad stock; Naimi et al, 2016 ) compared with 27 studies that relied only on perceived exposures (e.g., recalling ads; McClure et al, 2013b ).…”

“…In studies that assessed young peoples’ exposure to alcohol advertising, positive relationships were found across media types including television, magazines and newspapers, movie, mixed media, bar and pub, internet, and brand allegiance ( Atkin et al, 1984 ; Faria et al, 2011 ; Faulkner et al, 2017 ; Gunter et al, 2009 ; Jones & Magee, 2011 ; Kinard & Webster, 2010 ; Lin et al, 2012 ; Morgenstern et al, 2011 ; Naimi et al, 2016 ; Peltzer et al, 2016 ; Ross et al, 2014a , 2015 ; Saffer & Dave, 2003 ; Siegel et al, 2016 ; Unger et al, 2003 ). For example, a British study reported positive associations between seeing alcohol advertising on television, in movies, and in magazines with past-month drinking frequency ( Gunter et al, 2009 ).…”

“…Last, we summarized findings across the types of media examined (e.g., television, billboards, etc.). Given the limited number of studies that conducted subgroup analyses (e.g., Jones & Magee, 2011 ; Naimi et al, 2016 ; Saffer & Dave, 2003 ), we reviewed main or whole sample findings because there was too little information to draw reliable conclusions on the relationship between marketing exposure and alcohol use outcomes among subgroups.…”

Similarities Between Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising Exposure and Adolescent Use of Each of These Substances

“…A smaller number of studies has assessed whether the quantity of advertising exposure is associated with the total quantity of alcohol consumed by underage youth, and they too have found a positive relationship between past-year exposure to advertising and the total quantity of alcohol consumed in the past 30 days, even after consumption of nonadvertised brands was controlled for ( Naimi et al, 2016 ; Snyder et al, 2006 ). One additional study surveyed a cohort of adolescents over 2 years and found that awareness of marketing at baseline was associated with an increased frequency of alcohol use at follow-up ( Gordon et al, 2010 ).…”