College Students for Responsible Drinking
It has come to our attention that in the past Alcohol advertisements have been accompanied with a tagline encouraging consumers to ?drink responsibly?. However, this is not always the case, nor is this advice emphasized in the commercial as holding any importance. The issue was brought to our attention during the Super Bowl this year. Noticing the amount of alcohol related commercials, the ideas about drinking that are impressed on viewers, and the lack of advertisements that remind consumers about the dangers of alcohol and encourage them to drink responsibly. Therefore, this paper will address the issue at hand, emphasizing the great impact that media does have on society as a whole, but more specifically the children of our society. Also, this paper proposes an advocacy project that will work towards the addition of responsible drinking advertisements being incorporated into the commercial times during main sporting events such as the Super Bowl.
First, there are a few important issues that need to be addressed. For example, one may not agree that media, much less commercials, has any effect on the way that society runs. However, there has been a lot of research on the topic and research does support the idea that media has a direct influence on the attitudes and beliefs of the people who consume it. It is important to look back into our history to see how this influence has changed and developed. Believe it or not, our society has not always had to worry about the positive and negative effects of the media. Media itself is a new idea, and is one that has been growing rapidly over the past one hundred years. After the television was invented and became popular in American homes, a growing trend began to develop as the television became the center of the home. Over time the attraction of the television and the amount of advertisements on television has increased. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) it was estimated that in 1970 ?children viewed an average of about 20,000 commercials per year? (Singer, &Singer, 2001). By the early 1990?s it was estimated that children viewed more than ?40,000 television ads per year? (Singer, &Singer, 2001).
This paper does not propose that advertising companies are intentionally corrupting the future generations. There are positive intended outcomes of advertising. However, the positive outcomes are more generally for the advertising company rather than for the consumers themselves. Oftentimes, the advertising companies and the general public fail to realize or take into account any of the unintended effects of their advertisement. Also, even if the companies are aware, it is more likely that they will justify the negative impact by the ?great? positive impact of the advertisement. Research shows that media does have an influence on the attitudes of children regarding various products.
?In a study with particularly strong external validity, Gorn and Goldberg (1982) c
First, there are a few important issues that need to be addressed. For example, one may not agree that media, much less commercials, has any effect on the way that society runs. However, there has been a lot of research on the topic and research does support the idea that media has a direct influence on the attitudes and beliefs of the people who consume it. It is important to look back into our history to see how this influence has changed and developed. Believe it or not, our society has not always had to worry about the positive and negative effects of the media. Media itself is a new idea, and is one that has been growing rapidly over the past one hundred years. After the television was invented and became popular in American homes, a growing trend began to develop as the television became the center of the home. Over time the attraction of the television and the amount of advertisements on television has increased. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) it was estimated that in 1970 ?children viewed an average of about 20,000 commercials per year? (Singer, &Singer, 2001). By the early 1990?s it was estimated that children viewed more than ?40,000 television ads per year? (Singer, &Singer, 2001).
This paper does not propose that advertising companies are intentionally corrupting the future generations. There are positive intended outcomes of advertising. However, the positive outcomes are more generally for the advertising company rather than for the consumers themselves. Oftentimes, the advertising companies and the general public fail to realize or take into account any of the unintended effects of their advertisement. Also, even if the companies are aware, it is more likely that they will justify the negative impact by the ?great? positive impact of the advertisement. Research shows that media does have an influence on the attitudes of children regarding various products.
?In a study with particularly strong external validity, Gorn and Goldberg (1982) c
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