Alcohol companies direct their ads toward young women

The words and images in the alcohol ads shown by Dr. Jernigan are selected to attract young and modern women: Natural vodka. Organic tequila. Natural beer; purify your world. Natural tequila. Gluten-free vodka. The Four Loco brand is marketed with “natural Brazilian healing power”, brewed on natural Brazilian berries revered for centuries for its mystical healing power.

Dr. David Jernigan (picture right) from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has followed the alcohol industry over many years, in particular their marketing practices. In the video clip Dr. Jernigan is speaking to the National Roundtable on Girls, Women and Alcohol in the US.

See the video from Dr. Jernigan’s presentation here.

One of the beer brands selected in Dr. Jernigan’s presentation is marketed as “fitness friendly”. Budweiser Select is marketed as “the lightest beer in the world” with only 55 calories, and this product is advertised at the WeightWatchers web site. Bacardi and Diet Cola boasts of being even better; “0 carbs, 0 sugar”.

Michelob Ultra is the right choice “when you go running”. Even the package is slim, and “Sleek. Slim. Sophisticated” is the slogan of this beer brand. “I don’t make this up”, comments Dr. Jernigan when he goes through all the ads linking alcohol with fitness, slimness and purity.

In his presentation Dr. Jernigan also makes reference to “drinkorexia”; the new phenomenon where young women are “saving calories” by starving themselves so that they can drink alcohol and still be slimming.

Towards the end of the clip David Jernigan comments on a video ad by Bailey’s where the women are made a part of the drink itself. Women, all of them slim and fit and dressed in the same colour as the Bailey’s drink, come out of the glass, perform a beautiful dance and dive into the drink again at the end. – The women are the drink, says Jernigan.

“Cream with spirit” goes the Bailey’ slogan at the end of the video film. The behind-the-scene video shows that 50 dancers participated in the production of the ad, the dancers rehearsed for 100 hours and 600 meter chiffon was used to get the right touch to the “Bailey’s girls”.