Gam and I went to see the Alien vs. Predator: Requiem movie yesterday, which in Gam's words was "A totally awesome movie". The audience was fairly young- thankfully not many under-15's, and those that were there were accompanied by a long-suffering mother.
To my mind, the most memorable part of the experience was the pre-movie advertising in which the audience was treated to another one of those dreadful 'Make up your own mind about drinking' ads. It featured a young woman playing pool who 'said no' to another drink and was immediately transported into a whole heap of fantasy scenarios where she was a 'winner'- climbing mount everest (in a singlet), winning a swimming race... I can't think of any others but they were all about how totally awesome she was and was having a great time having 'said no'. I must have missed the bit where she actually 'said no', as I was having a what-the-fuck moment right up until I saw the Queensland Health blurb and the preachy bit about not drinking.
There was open laughter and jeering in the cinema as people mocked the ad- it was seriously lame.
I'd call that a fail.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of young people don't drink because they're pressured to, they drink because they like to. I personally can't fathom why someone could drink until they threw up and then call it a good night, but that's what I overheard a lot of my highschool and uni peers talking about in my late teens/early 20s. The biggest problem isn't with young people who want to 'say no' but feel peer pressure not to- it's with young people whose idea of having a blast is getting totally and utterly wasted. We wouldn't have such a widespread culture of binge drinking if people didn't derive some enjoyment from it.
Unfortunately the Queensland Health website isn't up to date with their ads so I can't link to the videos, but there are a couple of equally lame ads already up there, including the infamously lame 'it's not the end of the world' ad with Bec Cartwright.
A background paper available from the Queensland Health website claims that these ads have been successful in creating a shift in behaviour towards less risky drinking patterns in young women aged 18-22, despite claiming that the ads were aimed specifically at 'empowering' young women who already wanted to 'say no'. While I'm no longer in their target demographic and went through only the briefest of periods of alcohol overconsumption when I was 18, I was within the age group targeted when the 'End of the World' ads came out. They seem no less lame now than they did then, and if I had to give this latest one a rating, I'd say the Bec Cartwright one would be a 5 out of 10, while the latest one would be a 1.
I think one of the problems with measures like these is that they specifically target young women. This seems to imply that there is more of a problem with binge drinking among young women than with the young men who make up a significant part of their peer group. Or that binge drinking is somehow less acceptable for women to take part in than for men to take part in. It ignores the social reality of young women and men drinking together. I also think it's probably much less socially acceptable for the average young Aussie male to cut back on their boozing than it would be for a woman, as there is a sort of machismo attached to alcohol overconsumption.
Overall, I would say the ads have been recognisable but only because they're so lame. If there is a reduction in risky drinking behaviour among young women (which, despite the claims of the background paper I seriously doubt) I'd guess that there has to be another reason behind it.
I don't wish to undermine the importance of measures to curb overconsumption of alcohol, especially among young people (although their adult role models should probably take a good hard look at themselves too), but I really think ads that miss their mark so widely will only serve to undermine the cause by making the idea of saying no to a drink an object of ridicule among the target demographic and their immediate peer group.
Finally, don't Queensland Health use a test audience for their ads before they run them? Making ads that are openly scoffed at and jeered does nothing for their credibility when they finally do come up with an ad that hits home.
3 comments:
Whilst I agree that social attitudes towards drinking are well and truly sexualised, and largely chauvinised, the reason why those ads are always pitched at young women is that they are, believe it or not, bigger binge drinkers than young males (though bingey, they're also more slow and steady).
Their binge drinking rates have been sky-rocketing in the last ten years (which I reckon you could argue since women getting pissed as become more socially acceptable, though that's one area where equality ain't the winner. You could also argue since the the inroduction of the infamous Lemon Ruskie, successor to the West Coast Cooler, but stronger, faster and better marketed, and it's infinite clones).
Also, in terms of harm minimisation, young girls unfortunately harm themselves more often with their binge drinking than young men (I'm talking direct alcohol consumption here, not drink-driving, biffo, etc.).
Of course, the real answer isn't with some piss weak ads (I totally agree, they are piss weak, all of them), the answer is in regulating the industry, and
a) changing liquor taxing based on alcohol %, not the mish mash of crap it is now
b) Stop letting the industry sell and market drinks to children.
c) Stop parents encouraging binge drinking in their children.
But of course it won't happen, because its two of the most powerful lobby groups in australia, the liquor industry and the pubs and clubs industry.
So money gets spent on ads instead, cause it's easier, and it allows everyone to try and sleep at night. Pft.
I can't really disagree with anything you've said there, although the 'direct harm' thing could be a bit iffy... can the cost of binge drinking really be separated from things like alcohol-related accidents?
Spot on with the points at the bottom, though... and I unfortunately share your lack of optimism that any effective measures will be taken.
Oh I totally agree with you about the direct harm being separated: from a practical standpoint hell no, just from a research perspective it's a lot messier, and I don't know how the numbers add up.
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