Hey teens! This ad's for you.

Hey Teens! This Ad's for You

Beer advertisers have always said they don't target their commercials at youngsters. But the booze merchants' message--that alcohol is part of a glamorous and successful lifestyle--is coming across loud and clear...at least to young males.

When we recently asked almost 300 high-schoolers to name their favorite or most memorable television commercials, beer topped the boys' list.

Whether it was Spuds MacKenzie being cool for Bud Light, Eric Clapton playing a riff for Michelob, or Joe Piscopo hamming it up for Miller, one or more beer commercials showed up among the top five ads of 40 percent of the boys.

A 15-year-old listed his four favorite ads as "Strohs, Miller (& Lite), Bud Lite, Coors (Extra Gold)." Bud Light commercials "make me think of beer," offered a 14-year-old.

Only 12 percent of the girls listed beer or wine. But here again, alcohol was often associated with the good life. A 17-year-old rated Michelob high on her list because of the "good looking guys, nice party."

The beer industry says it doesn't target youngsters. But kids, especially boys, sure are attracted to the ads. The popularity of beer ads may well be one reason why national surveys have shown that some 26 percent of 8th graders and 35 percent of high school seniors are heavy binge drinkers.

According to trade journals, beer and wine producers spend about $1 billion a year on television commercials.

The 115 boys in the modest-sized survey listed a total of 401 commercials. After beer, the most popular ads were for fast foods, cars, running shoes, and soft drinks. The boys' single most-named ad was Joe Isuzu hawking cars and trucks by lying. Mmm.

The 169 girls surveyed were most attracted to ads for soft drinks, fast foods, and health and beauty products (shampoos, deodorants, cold medicines, etc.). Boys and girls agreed that humor, music, athletes, and attractive models made an ad stick in their minds.

It's clear that high school students have been captivated by products that promote heart disease, obesity, drunk driving, and many other health and social problems. It's high time that society restrict the ads, or at least balance them with slick-yet-sensible messages about health.

As usual, the alcohol industry dismissed the results with a simplistic explanation. "I don't believe this particular survey reveals anything more than parental neglect," Beer Institute president Jim Sanders told the Associated Press.

What about the neglect of the booze and fast-food pushers?

Interestingly, sober ads like those for MCI, AT&T, and IBM were rarely mentioned by the high-schoolers, while flamboyant Joe Isuzu was the most popular. That suggests that ad agencies could, if they wanted, design their ads for alcoholic beverages more for adult than youthful minds.

The trick? Simply leave out the sex, athletes, rock music, and jokes.

The CSPI survey was carried out last Spring in public and private high schools in Washington, Baltimore, and rural Pennsylvania. The 284 students, including whites and blacks of every income group, listed a total of 1,026 "favorite or most memorable" ads. The students' average age was 15.7 years.

Anne Whitehead, Claire Suen, and Beth Burns helped conduct this survey.