Advertising regulation needs strengthening to better regulate alcohol marketing on social media, new research finds

New research published today (18 July 2018) shows the significant role that drinking venues and alcohol brands play in marketing alcohol products to young people on social media. The report highlights how the regulatory system for alcohol marketing (under the UK advertising Codes of Practice regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority) is struggling to keep up with the pace and nature of technological change and needs to be strengthened – taking particular account of marketing by venues as well as brands – to reflect the central role of social media activity in young people’s drinking occasions. The report, ‘All night long: Social media marketing to young people by alcohol brands and venues’, from the University of Bath and the University of Birmingham, funded by us, is the first piece of research to analyse online alcohol marketing aimed at young people in the UK by bars and clubs as well as by alcohol brands. The recent expansion of social media use among under-25s has created unprecedented opportunities for the marketing of alcohol products, especially with the emergence of more interactive platforms. The report finds that: Alcohol brands were more popular on social media among younger (including those under the legal drinking age) participants, and less popular among older participants. A majority of under-18s followed social media marketing by alcohol brands, and a minority also followed bars and clubs despite being too young to enter such premises legall...
Source: Alcohol Research UK - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: News Source Type: news