LMFAO - Shots ft. Lil Jon

There really isn't much to say about this song that can't be understood from the title, or the just-as-obvious song lyrics. LMFAO, a band very popular with the 21 and under crowd, likes to pepper their songs with references to aggressive drinking. None of these songs are nearly as in-your-face about it as "Shots" though.

This song can be found at any number of college or high school parties, but has also featured on ESPN during college basketball games this past year. The song has gained prominence with a young audience that does not need to be told to take shots while still underage.

The song's chorus is literally the singers just screaming shots over and over. It's a no-so-subliminal message that tells kids that they should be drinking. The lyrics of the song are all about the "great" things that happen when everybody drinks. Again, not exactly the best message for teenagers.

Captain Morgan Four Guys

For as long as I can remember, I have been seeing ads for Captain Morgan, a spiced rum liquor. This started when I was extremely young, with a billboard that was very close to my house that held an ad for them for years. Following that, the ads began to appear of TV. It wasn't until a few years ago, likely a decade after I first started seeing these ads, that I even realized that what they were advertising was alcohol.

It is scary to think that kids are seeing and encoding these images and ads into their minds, not even knowing what they were for until years later. Once I discovered that Captain Morgan was a type of alcohol, all of the ads I had seen over the years came rushing back to me. It was almost as if I was being sold a product years in advance so I would want it in the future.

The following is a recent ad for Captain Morgan. I wonder if years later kids will remember this ad and what it will mean to them.

Gucci Mane - Wasted ft. Plies

Ha, rock star lifestyle might don't make it
Living life high everyday click wasted
Sipping on purple stuff rolling up stanky
Wake up in the morning 10 clock dranking

Party, party, party, let's all get wasted
Shake it for me baby girl, do it butt naked
I'm so wasted, she so wasted shout the bartender
Send 20 more cases

I could write down a few more lyrics from Gucci Mane's "Wasted", but I think the first two verses drive the point home. The rest of the song is exactly the same. Not only is it promoting binge drinking at all hours of the day, but also drugs and sex along with it.

Now this song never saw the amount of popularity that "Tik Tok" or "Say Aah" did, but this song undoubtably reached a number of teens. The message of this song could not be simpler: It's cool to get wasted. Getting drunk is the hip thing to do. With songs like this clogging up the airwaves it's not wonder that underage drinking is so prevalent.

Quick Facts About Alcohol Ads and Youth

The following are a list of facts gathered by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University:

Alcohol advertisers spent $2 billion on alcohol advertising in measured media (television, radio, print, outdoor, major newspapers and Sunday supplements) in 2005.

A national study published in January 2006 concluded that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth. Specifically, for each additional ad a young person saw (above the monthly youth average of 23), he or she drank 1% more. For each additional dollar per capita spent on alcohol advertising in a local market (above the national average of $6.80 per capita), young people drank 3% more.

Researchers followed 3,111 students in South Dakota from seventh to ninth grade, and found that exposure to in-store beer displays in grade 7 predicted onset of drinking by grade 9, and exposure to magazine advertising for alcohol and to beer concessions at sports or music events predicted frequency of drinking in grade 9.

An econometric analysis using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 estimated that a 28% reduction in alcohol advertising would reduce adolescent monthly alcohol participation from 25% to between 24% and 21%, and would reduce adolescent participation in binge drinking from 12% to between 11% and 8%.

^{An effort to estimate the likely effects of several alcohol policies on youth drinking behavior in the U.S. population concluded that a complete ban on alcohol advertising would be the most effective, resulting in 7,609 fewer deaths from harmful drinking and a 16.4% drop in alcohol-related life-years lost.}

^{If young people like alcohol ads, they are more likely to have positive expectancies about alcohol use and to intend to drink or to drink.}

A USA Today survey found that teens say ads have a greater influence on their desire to drink in general than on their desire to buy a particular brand of alcohol

View the full list at http://www.camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=1

Super Bowl Ads: House of Bud Light

Many teenagers watch sports, and parents rarely have a problem with this. Why should they? Of all the programs featuring drugs, sex, and violence, sports sounds like a great alternative. Except for one thing. Many if not all sporting events feature advertising for alcohol. Most of these ads are funny too. Since I can remember, I have been watching the Super Bowl, and always love the funny beer commercials. At a young age it is being imprinted into the minds of these kids that alcohol is fun and funny. It's an all around good time. This not only helps the kid associate good feelings with alcohol, but also peak their interest.

Below is a recent ad for Bud Light. This is one of hundreds of alcohol ads children have beed subjected to over the years.

Superbad Party Scene

The classic high school party. It's been done for decades. For my generation growing up I recall "Can't Hardly Wait," "10 Things I hate About You," and "American Pie" all glorifying these fantastic parties that awaited me when I got a little bit older, and at the center of every party was copious amounts of alcohol. I remember thinking to myself at the time, "I have friends who want to do this, all we need to do it get this alcohol and have a great time, just like in all the movies."

The following clip is an extended version of the party scene at the end of "Superbad," a recent successful film that was widely praised for creating a realistic image of high school. Again everything is surrounding the drinking, telling children that the party doesn't exist without alcohol.

Now I'm sure many might say that since the film is rated R younger children shouldn't be watching this, but let's be realistic. Most children above 13 that wanted to see this movie likely have. Plus, it's on basic cable now. Also, just because you're old enough to get into an R-rated movie does not necessarily mean that you are 21, the legal drinking age.

How I Met Your Mother

"How I Met Your Mother" is a show that airs on CBS Mondays at 8p.m., where most kids can easily watch it. Priding itself on being the closest thing to the next "Friends," it tries to mirror that show's coffee house set Central Perk, except making it more "realistic" and using a bar. It would appear that every single night these characters go to drink at this bar. This gives off the impression that it is normal to drink every single day. In fact, it is the cool thing to do.

The following clip is not from the bar, but rather a college party, full of beer bongs and chugging. Again, this gives off the impression that the only way to let loose and have a good time is to involve alcohol.

Trey Songz - Say Aah ft. Fabolous

"Since we in the club
For now (For Now)
Might as well get another round (round)
Notice there ain't nothing in your cup
So get here baby let me fill it up (fill it up)

Go girl,
Its your birthday
Hold the wine,
I know your thirsty
Say Aah (Aah, Aah, Aah, Aah)
Say Aah (Aah, Aah, Aah, Aah)
We don't by no drinks at the bar
We pop champagne cuz we got that dough
Let me hear you say Aah (Aah, Aah, Aah, Aah)
You want me say Aah (Aah, Aah, Aah, Aah)"

This recent top 20 hit is all about getting girls drunk in order to take advantage of them. Not exactly the best message to be spreading to kids through the radio. It not only promotes excessive drinking, but it also correlates drinking with sex, a dangerous idea to put into the heads of hormonal boys and girls who many not even know how to practice safe sex yet.

Videos such as these tell teenagers that drinking is something that they should be doing. It is not only fun, but it is all that is important. It's no wonder that high schoolers feel the need to get thier hands on alcohol even though they're likely over half a decade under the legal drinking age.

Mad Men

No show on television glorifies drinking more than AMC's "Mad Men." Rarely on this show is there not a drink in somebody's hand, whether they are at home with the kids, or in their office at work. It shows drinking as not only an everyday part of life, but an every hour of every day part of life. The show also prides itself on being suave and cool. The main characters wear the best clothes, have the best jobs, and buy the best things. The fine liquors that are constantly being drank add to this aura.

In fact, when the third season of this show premiered, the poster was simply a glass of scotch, which signified that to be as sophisticated as the main character Don Draper, one had to have that glass of expensive liquor in their hand.

Ke$ha - TiK ToK

"When I leave brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack," are some of the first words that Ke$ha utters in this recent chart-topping hit. The song is all about partying as hard as possible all night long, which might not be the worst message in the world if it weren't for the fact that it was being broadcast throughout busses on the way to school each morning.

Pulling up to the parties/Trying to get a little bit tipsy

Ain't got a care in the world/But got plenty of beer

Everybody getting crunk/Boys trying to touch my junk/Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk

These lyrics tell kids of all ages that drinking is not only okay, but it's a fantastic way to have a good time. The consequences that result from this binge drinking are simply part of the fun.

How scary is it to wonder about how many kids actually have tried to brush their teeth with Jack Daniels? Honestly, there has to be at least a few.

Works Cited

"Alcohol Advertising and Kids - Teaching Backgrounder." Media Awareness Network | Réseau éducation Médias. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. .

"Alcohol Advertising and Youth -- Policy & Advocacy -- American Academy of Family Physicians." Home Page -- American Academy of Family Physicians. 2004. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. .

Anderson, Peter, Avalon De Brujin, Kathryn Agnus, Ross Gordon, and Gerard Hastings. "Impact of Alcohol Advertising and Media Exposure on Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies." Alcohol and Alcoholism 44.3 (2009): 229-43. Oxford Journals. Web. 7 Apr. 2010.

"Booze in Cyberspace: Alcohol Marketing in Youth-Friendly Media." 2nd Annual Free The Bowl Video Contest. 6 Apr. 2006. Web. 08 Apr. 2010. .

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Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Georgetown University. Alcohol Advertising and Youth. Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Georgetown University, Apr. 2007. Web. 7 Apr. 2010.

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Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Georgetown University. Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television, 2001 to 2007. Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Georgetown University, 2008. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. .

The Center on Alcohol Monitoring and Youth. Georgetown University. Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television and in National Magazines, 2001 to 2006. The Center on Alcohol Monitoring and Youth. Georgetown University, 19 Dec. 2007. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. .

Martin, Susan E. "Effects of the Mass Media on the Use & Abuse of Alcohol." National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (1995). Web. 7 Apr. 2010. .

Medew, Julia. "Call for TV Ban on Alcohol Advertising." The Age - Business, World & Breaking News | Melbourne, Australia. 6 Mar. 2009. Web. 08 Apr. 2010. .