Alcohol marketing in popular movies doubles in past two decades
"Children and young people look to movie stars as role models." said James D. Sargent, MD, FAAP, a professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Community & Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and an author of the study. "For alcohol companies, when a favorite star uses a certain brand of alcohol, that brand gets linked to all the characteristics young admirers see in their movie idol. That's why it's no surprise that the brands commonly shown in movies are the most highly advertised brands, and the same brands underage drinkers tend to drink," he said. The abstract, "Trends in alcohol brand placements in top U.S. Movies, 1996-2015," will be presented on Tuesday, May 9, at the Moscone Center West convention center. Looking at the top 100 movies with the highest U.S. box-office gross revenues each year during the two-decade study period, the researchers determined that alcohol brand placement increased annually b...