When watching any kind of sporting event on television, what types of advertisements occur the most often?  Car commercials are common, as are those for insurance.  However, the one that tends to come to mind the quickest is alcohol.  Bud Light and Budweiser and Heineken; there is a reason all these brand names stick in our minds.  Moreover, alcohol advertisements are frighteningly endangering and potentially hazardous to viewers, especially those under the legal drinking age.  Alcohol manufacturers should not be allowed to advertise on television because they target children and teenagers.

The alcohol industry aims to convince the younger generation to begin consuming alcohol.  Because most adults already drink alcohol, and because those who do not are most likely not going to start now, children and teenagers prevail as their best option.  Alcohol manufacturers claim that they do not market to underage kids, and they argue that they actually attempt to convince them not to drink through public service announcements.  However, the money spent on those announcements amounts to a tiny fraction of what the alcohol industry spends total on advertising.  Researchers estimate that a teenager sees twenty-five to fifty advertisements positively promoting alcohol for every public service announcement they hear to drink responsibly (Riccio).  Additionally, alcohol companies use tactics that are specifically aimed at younger people.  For example, most have their own websites, where people can play games or enter contests to win prizes (Riccio).  Clearly, this method of advertising promotes alcoholic companies to children and teenagers rather than adults.  Children instantly fall in love with anything that provides them entertainment, right?  Alcohol manufacturers take advantage of those innocent minds and brainwash them into thinking positively about alcohol.  Finally, these companies have created a new alcoholic beverage that specifically targets the youth market.  Alcopops are a fruit-flavored alcohol designed to give the beverage a better taste.  They are clearly intended for teenagers who might not be fond of the torturesome taste of the drink.  A poll conducted by the Center for Science of in the Public Interest resulted in teenagers displaying more familiarity with alcopops than adults.  Additionally, teenagers proved twice as likely to have tried the beverage than adults (Alcohol).  Alcohol marketing aims at those who are underage in order to secure themselves new customers.

Despite the appalling evidence that shows the effects of alcohol advertisements on children and teenagers, many parents declare that they have the responsibility to monitor what the youth see on television.  This argument would mean that it would not matter if  alcohol is advertised on television because if parents do not want their children seeing them, they can simply place restrictions on certain channels.  In spite of this, there remain specific situations in which seeing these advertisements cannot be avoided.  The Super Bowl, an annual event that attracts millions of viewers, is appropriate for all ages.  The commercials aired during the game, however, are a problem.   According to USA Today, Budweiser has had the most popular Super Bowl advertisement for the past ten years (Booze).  It is ridiculous and impractical that parents should have to change the channel every time a commercial promoting alcohol comes on.  Also, parents cannot possibly stay with their child during every second they spend in front of the television; there are times when a parent may be in another room or busy doing something else.  Finally, there will always be parents who will refuse to restrict what their children watch, whether it be because they are careless or because they do not believe in restricting their child’s freedom.  The kids of these parents will still endure exposure to these advertisements constantly and have a greater chance of drinking underage.  The argument that it should be parents’ responsibility to keep their children from viewing these commercials is invalid because kids will still see these alcohol promotions regardless of any restrictions that may be placed on the television.

Thus, the elimination of alcohol advertisements is entirely necessary.  Companies attempt to poison the minds of the youth in order to recruit new customers.  Manufacturers place more focus on promoting their product than attempting to keep their customers safe.  They intentionally aim their advertising tactics at children and teenagers.  These evil companies have even created a new alcoholic beverage to capture the teenage market.  These advertisements must be taken off television so they will stop affecting the perception of young people.  An end to alcohol commercials would mean a dramatic decrease in underage drinking.  Something to consider.