Sweet and Dangerous: The Hidden Risks of Diageo’s New RTD
Posted on October 16, 2024 in Diageo, Promotion, BrazilDiageo, the company behind Johnnie Walker, has introduced its first Johnnie Walker-branded ready-to-drink (RTD) product in Brazil. This move is part of a growing trend by Big Alcohol to market pre-mixed alcoholic beverages, which are particularly appealing to younger alcohol consumers.
The issue with RTDs lies in how they mask the strength of alcohol with sweet mixers, making it easier for people to drink more without realizing how much alcohol they are consuming. Younger consumers are especially vulnerable, drawn in by convenient packaging, appealing flavors, and familiar branding. RTDs are marketed as a hassle-free option for any occasion, disguising the serious health risks associated with alcohol use.
This reflects a broader strategy by Big Alcohol to aggressively promote RTDs and create demand for these products, all under the guise of convenience. The industry’s intensified marketing efforts are designed to normalize alcohol in casual settings, prioritizing profits over public health. By embedding alcohol consumption into everyday life, they ignore the significant harm it causes to people and communities.
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.