A qualitative investigation of responses to televised alcohol advertisements

Abstract

February 1992 saw the introduction of new rules governing alcohol advertising in New Zealand. Prior to this date there had been limited alcohol advertising on television, with only sponsorship and corporate advertising permitted (Casswell et al., 1989). The new rules allowed for alcohol brand advertising to be shown after 9 p.m., and this resulted in a fourfold increase in televised alcohol advertising in the two-year period between 1991 and 1993 (Casswell et al., 1994). The changes were introduced with the stipulation that they would be reviewed after two years. To assist in this review process, a series of research projects was undertaken, which included complementary qualitative and quantitative studies with similar age groups, plus content analyses. The qualitative research was undertaken to understand more fully how individuals of different ages and ethnic groups were responding to televised alcohol advertisements in this environment of greatly increased exposure to such advertisements. The effects of alcohol advertising are difficult to assess, and therefore it is appropriate to use a range of methodologies to examine the topic. Methodologies used by other researchers have included econometric analyses (Lee and Tremblay, 1992; Grabowski, 1976; McGuiness, 1980; Duffy, 1987, 1991; Franke and Wilcox, 1987; Selvanathan, 1989), comparing countries with and without alcohol advertising bans (Saffer, 1991), examining the effect of short-term temporary bans (Smart and Cutler, 1976; Ogborne and Smart, 1980), crosssectional surveys (Strickland, 1982, 1983; Atkin et al., 1984; Atkin and Block, 1984), one longitudinal study (Connolly et al., 1994), experimental studies (Brown, 1978; McCarty and Ewing, 1983; Kohn et al., 1984; Kohn and Smart, 1984, 1987; Sobell et al., 1986; Wilks et al., 1992), and content analyses (Finn and Strickland, 1982; Atkin, 1987). Few studies have been reported that have qualitatively examined responses to televised alcohol advertisements. One exception was a qualitative study in Scotland (Aitken et al., 1988a; Aitken, 1989), which, as with the current study, was undertaken in association with a quantitative study (Aitken et al., 1988b). They focused on youngsters 10-16 years old and noted that at that time there had been few accounts of the child's view of alcohol advertising. They found that by the age of 14, children perceived lager and beer commercials as promoting macho-masculinity, sociability, and working-class values. These findings were also consistent with research they had done on children's perceptions of the imagery in cigarette advertisements (Aitken et al., 1985). Previous alcohol advertising research in New Zealand had been undertaken following the introduction of the corporate and sponsorship advertising in 1987. This research involved surveys of boys 9-14 years old (Wyllie et al., 1989) and of men 15-30 years old (Wyllie et al., 1991). The surveys included a number of open-ended questions that allowed the respondents to describe their response to each of two advertisements in their own words. This advertising was found to be popular with the boys and young men, and, despite ostensibly not advertising beer, it did have strong association with the promotion of beer. This advertising was perceived to be communicating a tough, active, outdoors type of imagery. One of the advertisements was set in pioneering times and featured strong, rugged men who managed to stop a wagon from falling off a narrow bridge. The other featured rugby players in training, including close-up shots of tackles. A concern with this type of imagery in sports sponsorship advertising was cited as part of the motivation for a policy change, in the belief that the inclusion of brand advertising would result in less emphasis on this type of macho masculinity. In attempting to understand the possible effects of alcohol advertising, it is useful to consider the theoretical perspectives that attempt to explain the ways in which advertising might have an influence. …