There’s long been conversations on what should and shouldn’t be celebrated in the media, and what can and can’t be advertised. For example, the promotion of cigarettes has long gone, with any form of advertising even removed from the labels.
Sports betting is following a similar pathway, and while in the USA more sports teams are seeking sponsorship from betting companies as laws are eased, the rest of the world are seemingly cutting down on how betting companies can or can’t operate, even preventing famous faces being associated with them.
And then there’s alcohol…
Alcohol advertising is somewhat limited. There are only particular times of the day, while gone are the days when companies could say anything like “Guinness is good for you”. But yet, anyone can be the face of a beer company, and adverts are always oozing style and sophistication, encouraging us to be that person by drinking that beer. And we all fall for it.
Today, the most popular beers in the world make for an interesting read, and by sales, it currently looks as follows:
1.Snow
2.Budweiser
3.Tsingtao
4.Bud Light
5.Skol
6.Heineken
7.Harbin
8.Yangjing
9.Corona
10.Coors Light
Interestingly, the Asian market has really taken off, with the likes of Snow and Harbin not readily available elsewhere in the world, while the likes of Heineken, Budweiser and Corona remain a constant.
But nowhere on Heineken or Carlsberg adverts do you see the health implications. Is it time that we should?
Rather than celebrating what is “probably the best beer in the world”, should governments be placing legislation in place to highlight the harm alcohol can do, just as cigarettes do?
How much do you love beer? Is it enough to develop liver disease or digestive problems? Is it enough to come home after a night in the pub and hit a partner? Because there are clear connections between the consumption of beer, or alcohol in general, and such instances.
There are certainly calls for how alcohol is marketed to be more stringent and much more in line with cigarettes and gambling, the latter of which is starting to get tighter as problem gambling continues to rise.
There has been a rise in people suffering with alcohol addiction too, though, and that can’t be ignored. Of course, that shouldn’t stop people enjoying a pint of beer, just as the tightening of gambling in many parts of the world shouldn’t stop people having a bet. But rather encouraging people to do so in moderation…
