Analysis of Alcohol Advertising Themes Across Multiple Media in Australia

The aim of this study was to analyze themes commonly used in alcohol ads in order to identify commonalities and differences by media type and the implications for existing regulatory frameworks.
The largest proportion of analyzed ads belonged to the out-of-home category (41%), followed by the online category (27%), indicating the importance of ensuring that these media are appropriately covered by regulations.
Overall, humor was the most common theme (present in 18% of ads), followed by value for money (14%), sports (14%), and bulk purchases (10%).
Humor often co-occurred with other themes: 59% of ads with a sexual attraction theme, 40% of ads depicting mateship/friendship, 31% of ads depicting manliness, and 27% of ads with a partying theme also featured humor.
Alcohol marketers are strategically selecting media platforms for particular themes…