The marketing of alcohol is “relentless” with an ad every 35 seconds, according to research by the Cancer Council WA and the Foundation for Alcohol Research Education (FARE).
In just one hour on a Friday night, 107 sponsored alcohol ads were displayed on a person’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, equating to about one ad every 35 second, says the research.
“Over 100 alcohol ads in one hour demonstrates the relentlessness of digital alcohol marketing during the COVID-19 restrictions,” Cancer Council WA alcohol program manager Julia Stafford says.
“Many of these ads promoted buying more alcohol and drinking alcohol to cope or ‘survive’ isolation and the pandemic. With phrases like ‘wine from home’, ‘Stay in. Drink up’, and ‘confinement sale’, it’s evident the alcohol industry is using a global health crisis to its advantage.”
The report found six key marketing messages in the sample of ads analysed, with “get easy access to alcohol without leaving your home” used 58% of the time, “save money” at 55%, “buy more” at 35%, “drink alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic” at 24%, “use alcohol to cope, ‘survive’, or feel better” at 16% and “choose ‘healthier’ alcohol products” at 14%.
Nearly three-quarters of alcohol ads, 71%, explicitly or implicitly referenced the COVID-19 pandemic, while two-thirds, 66%, had a ‘shop now’ or ‘get offer’ button linking directly to their online store.
FARE CEO Caterina Giorgi says people are being “bombarded” at a time when they’re feeling socially isolated, anxious and facing economic uncertainty.
“This study shows that alcohol companies are taking advantage of people’s fear and anxiety by urging us to drink alcohol to cope with isolation,” Giorgi says.
“This is all happening while people’s lives have been turned upside down because of COVID-19.”
Shanna Whan, a rural NSW resident who founded a grassroots bush charity called Sober in the Country after her experience with alcohol dependence, says she is “disheartened” by the alcohol industry’s marketing during lockdowns, highlighting that the self-regulatory Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code is flawed.
“I am genuinely fatigued and heartbroken by the constant social media posts glorifying coping with ISO by getting drunk because I know the crushing weight it’s adding to our most vulnerable; like those in early recovery, or shaky sobriety, or those who don’t even yet know they’re becoming dependent drinkers,” Whan says.
“The marketing practices of the alcohol industry during the pandemic show that the way that we regulate alcohol advertising in Australia is broken. The industry cannot be trusted to regulate their own marketing.”
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