Unhappy hour: More underage viewers exposed to more alcohol ads

Published: 2008-07-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- To paraphrase Roseanne Roseannadanna, Gilda Radner's news-commentator character from the early years of "Saturday Night Live," it's always something. Especially when it comes to TV. Programs may be well-produced but of questionable taste. Program content may be worthy of viewing but a limited budget means that the acting or production values don't compete well in the 500-channel universe. Then there's the deadly combination of bad acting, bad production and bad values. And let's not forget commercials. The latest evidence that something is rotten in the U.S. is a June 24 report issued by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, at Georgetown University in Washington. The number of alcohol ads seen by youths ages 12-20 -- people too young to drink alcohol legally -- rose 38 percent since the center started tracking the numbers in 2001. Back in 2001, the typical underage viewer saw 216 alcohol ads a year. In 2007, that number was 301 -- nearly one a day on average. Of all the alcohol ads that aired, one in five of them was shown on a program which young people were more likely to be watching than adults of legal drinking age.

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