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Group Targets Alcohol, Other 'Adult' Ads on Sports Broadcasts
September 21, 2009

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News Summary

Half or more of the ads aired during Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) games are for alcohol, drugs, or sexually related products, according to the group Common Sense Media.

The Associated Press reported Sept. 17 that the group has called on sports leagues and networks to curb advertising they say is inappropriate for young viewers -- so far, without success.

The Drug-Free Action Alliance of Columbus, Ohio, surveyed teens after last year's Super Bowl and found that three of their four favorite ads broadcast during the game were for beer.

Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer said that letters to the leagues have fallen on deaf ears, and that nothing is likely to change without pressure from lawmakers or government regulators.

The NFL bans ads for liquor but allow commercials for wine and beer. A Fox Sports spokesperson said that advertising decisions are based on audience composition and that the viewership for NFL games "is overwhelmingly adult."

However, Lisa Hoover, a Sarasota, Fla., mother who watches NFL games with her three sons, said that, "All the while, I have to explain terms like 'erectile dysfunction' to my kids, remind them that drinking beer isn't as cool as all the ads make it seem, and distract them from Go Daddy commercials that border on soft porn. While I don't hold the NFL responsible for the juvenile advertising, I'm sure a few a pointed comments from Commissioner Goodell to sponsors about respectability wouldn't hurt."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by maxwood on 21 Sep 09 09:19 PM EDT
Let's be candid, for decades the brutality and "we win they lose" ethic of spectator sports has been sponsored by beer companies because the "competition" ethic promotes the desire for a "performance enhancement drug"-- i.e. the alcohol emboldens "fans" to do what they want to do, i.e. jeer and taunt enemies, pick fights etc.

Posted by Vicki Bowen on 22 Sep 09 11:08 AM EDT
In our society, our priorities are upside down/skewed, especially in regards keeping a strong, clean moral compass for the younger generation. Notwithstanding the fact that we outrageously overpay sports athletes but seriously underpay educators, we are engendering a sleazy 'playing field', excuse the pun, by constantly pointing our children towards excessive, spiritually flat behaviours.

Posted by It's all the same on 22 Sep 09 01:50 PM EDT
Wouldn't be surprised if this is targeted toward sports bars. Since the smoking ban, these places already have their economic problems. Looks like the do-gooders are going in for the kill concerning adult entertainment.

Posted by joshua on 22 Sep 09 02:55 PM EDT
If your children are spending enough time watching professional sports that this is an issue you are worried about, then you are a bad parent. your kids have much bigger problems than seeing an alcohol ad. (this is similar to the parents who complain that video games are too violent - they should not buy them for children) it is not intended to be childrens entertainment.

Posted by Pete on 22 Sep 09 04:25 PM EDT
All the ED drug commercials during sports (and, it seems, news broadcasts)trouble me almost as much. They almost invariably portray couples in their late 30s or early 40s, all of whom are apparently verty healthy and quite fit. I have a really hard time believing this is a population that actually needs these drugs. I think they are being marketed for recreational use with a wink and a nod while throwing in an obligatory cautionary statement like, "Ask your doctor if you're healthy enough for sexual activity." Come on, unless you're on your deathbed, you probably are healthy enough.

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