“Smart Drinking” or Smart Marketing? AB InBev’s Campaign Distracts from Alcohol Harm
Posted on September 16, 2024 in AB InBev, Promotion, ColombiaAB InBev, the world’s largest beer producer, has been using “moderation” campaigns in Colombia, promoting “smart drinking” through brands like Budweiser and Corona. This a tactic frequently used by the alcohol industry to deflect accountability. By focusing on personal responsibility, the company shifts blame for alcohol harm onto consumers, avoiding scrutiny of their aggressive marketing tactics.
Ideas of “smart drinking” or “responsible drinking” are especially problematic. They suggest that alcohol consumption should be controlled and managed by individuals, ignoring the systemic issues that contribute to alcohol harm, such as pervasive alcohol advertising and easy availability. By promoting “smart drinking,” AB InBev implies that alcohol consumption is safe if handled properly, even though no level of alcohol use is without risk. This messaging obscures the fact that alcohol-related harm, such as accidents, violence, and health issues, remains a significant public health concern in Colombia.
Promotion, or any marketing strategies, is Big Alcohol’s activity to drive alcohol availability and acceptability, to perpetuate the alcohol norm, and to place alcohol at the center of people’s thoughts and preferences, communities’ practices, and societies’ customs. The focus of this DUBIOUS FIVE strategy is the people and their beliefs about alcohol products, the public and their attitudes about and behavior around alcohol products, and the consumers and how much, how often they buy and consume alcohol brands.
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