I chose to research alcohol ads because it is the number one abused drug in the United States. The reason why I chose Mike’s Hard Lemonade “What’s Out There Starts Here” commercial is because it streamed while I was watching Hulu one night. My first thoughts regarding the ad were misbelief and shock of the outrageous content presented. Ever since then, I’ve noticed it everywhere! Hulu streams this commercial constantly during their break periods and they are inevitable unless you pay more for their no commercial plan.
History: Mike’s Hard Lemonade first launched in 1999. It established an entirely new beverage category called Ready-to-Drink beverages. Mike’s Hard lemonade was founded by Anthony von Mandl. He is the Founder and Chairman of The Mark Anthony Group, an American private alcoholic beverage company. According to the Mark Anthony Brands International website, their mission is to “provide products that are the finest quality and value in their category”. In addition, their website also states that they are committed to genuinely caring about their customers and providing services in an honest manner. Some interesting facts regarding the company includes the relocation to Seattle, Washington in 2005 from Colorado but announced their relocation to Chicago in 2013. The company grew from a one-man wine importing business to the largest Ready-to-Drink company in North America. According to the Origlio article, Mike’s Hard Lemonade was created as an alternative for beer because they found that “25% of men didn’t particularly want to drink beer but couldn’t be seen holding anything else in their hands”. In addition, Origlio states that Mike’s Hard Lemonade had a remarkable success due to the fact that “Mike’s sold its first 10 million cases without a cent of advertising”. Since then, Mike’s Hard Lemonade has been success in their Ready-to-Drink category due to their large numbers of flavor options and alcohol content. The credentials of the company also point to their success. According to their website, their business deals with over 450 distributors and delivers over 21 million cases of their products each year. In addition, their business has a “direct relationship with every provincial liquor board across the country” (About Us).
The “What’s Out There Starts Here” commercial displays young individuals especially young women either partying or living a luxurious life. This ad is associating their drink with cool, sexy people doing fun activities. The commercial is targeting youths by displaying activities they would potentially participate in or would “hope” to participate in such as the shot of the flying attendants welcoming the viewer into the private jet. This commercial ad is communicating to their viewers that if you drink Mike’s Hard Lemonade, you can be as cool and sexy like the people in the ad. The commercial narrator literally states, “there’s a door out there waiting for you, what’s out there starts here”. I concluded from the following statements and visuals that the message being conveyed to their viewers is that drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade will open multiple doors such as success and women. Young individuals are especially susceptible to messages such as these due to their vulnerability. In addition, I came across this commercial watching South Park on Hulu. Although South Park is not intended for young kids, the age range for the show is 15 years or older. This means that kids as young as 15 years of age are being exposed to influential alcohol advertisements such as these. I found this especially worrisome due to the commercial displaying a car door opening with the narrator saying “there’s this door” to open. I found this worrisome because this scene can be interpreted in multiple ways. One way this car scene can be misinterpreted especially by youths is that it’s okay to drink and get in a motor vehicle intoxicated. As previously stated above, the mission statement of The Mark Anthony Group is to genuinely care for their customers and provide services in an honest manner. However, this untruthful and deceptive commercial was aired during a cartoon series. According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, “Approximately 8.7 million Americans under the legal drinking age (12-20 years of age) were current alcohol users. This statistic includes 5.4 million binge drinkers and 1.4 million heavy drinkers”. These statistics may be the reflection of the lack of regulation of alcohol advertising and exposure of deceptive ads.
According to the Mike’s Hard Lemonade website, these beverages contain 5% alcohol. Their website also includes the fermenting process. They ferment malt grains with yeast, filter it to produce a neutral alcohol base, and add sugar lemon flavors. The type of alcohol used in alcoholic drinks such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade is a chemical called ethanol. Ethanol is a by product of fermenting grains due to the response of yeast with the sugar. Drinking alcohol in excess amounts is dangerous and can cause short-term and long-term harm. One of the consequences for drinking too much alcohol in a short span of time is alcohol poisoning. When one is drinking alcohol excessively, the body is unable to process alcohol content as fast as one consumes it. According to Short & Long-Term Effects of Alcohol website, the body can only metabolize 0.25 ounces of alcohol per hour and therefore, it’s absorbed into our bloodstream. On the other hand, drinking too much in the long run can put you at risk of different forms of cancer and other health problems. Alcohol is a depressant and therefore, depresses the central nervous system. In addition, alcohol alters brain chemistry and disrupts normal chemical balances. The reason why alcohol can help us feel more confident and relaxed is due to the alcohol repressing the part of the brain responsible for inhibition. However, more parts of the brain start to get affected with greater alcohol consumption. Regular heavy drinking interferes with neurotransmitters in our brain that are needed for good mental health. According to Short & Long-Term Effects of Alcohol website, alcohol affects the GABA and glutamate sites in the brain resulting in the physiological effects of drinking such as slurred speech and slow movement. However, the reason most individuals are motivated to drink is due to the activation of the reward system in the dopamine site of the brain. These disruptions can cause negative changes in the brain that are linked to mood and behavior. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, most heavy long-term alcohol users “will experience a mild to moderate impairment of intellectual functioning as well as diminished brain size”. The most common intellectual impairment is the ability to think abstractly and can lead to brain disorders. However, the “What’s Out There Starts Here” commercial did not mention any of these consequences and/or effects of drinking alcohol such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Mike’s Hard Lemonade “What’s Out There Starts Here” commerical is very deceptive due to the unrealistic material presented. How does drinking an alcoholic beverage open doors for anyone? This ad uses distorted presentation because it claims to open opportunities such as becoming successful and wealthy. Apparently, according to this ad, flying in your own private jet and getting with attractive ladies is associated with Mike’s Hard Lemonade. The ad also evidently uses repetition as an advertisement technique by constantly repeating the words “open the door”. This technique is used to drill into the minds of viewers in order to keep the product in recollection. In addition, the commercial used objectifying women as a technique to attract viewers. As previously mentioned, this ad contained several young and attractive women throughout the entire 30 seconds. Using attractive women as a technique is effective because it conveys the message that one can be that “ideal” woman or be with that “ideal” individual. All these advertising techniques are harmful to society because they convey a very unrealistic and deceptive message especially to susceptible youths. According to Alcohol Advertising, “most alcohol advertisers have pledged to comply with one of three voluntary self-regulatory codes designed to limit targeting of teens”. This means that the target audience should not consist of and/or primarily appeal to anyone under 21. However, from my observations, this Mike’s Hard Lemonade commercial does both. Since the commercial was aired during South Park, the target audience consists of individuals 21 and under. In addition, this ad consists of material that primarily attracts and appeals to people around the age of 21 including individuals under that age.
Before I did the research, I would have recommended Mike’s Hard Lemonade to anyone over 21. However, after extensive research and the encounter of such ads displayed by Mike’s Hard Lemonade, I would not recommend it to anyone. I personally did not like how multiple Mike’s Hard commercial contradicted with the mission statement committed by the Mark Anthony Group. Their commercials closely targeted and displayed content that would appeal to youths. In addition, they marketed several deceptive and untruthful ads that are harmful to society. It is apparent that they do not care for their customers and do not provide honest services.
Resources
About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from http://www.markanthonyintl.com/#ABOUTUS
Alcohol Advertising. (2016, September 01). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0391-alcohol-advertising
Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.mikeshard.com/faq/
Short & Long-Term Effects of Alcohol On Brain Function & Cognitive Ability. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/mental-effects/