AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATION OF THE 18+ WARNING SIGN IN ALCOHOL ADVERTISEMENTS IN NIGERIA TERTIARY INSTITUTION
ABSTRACT
One of the things that makes drinking alcoholic beverages more likely, especially among young people, is advertising (Alcohol Concern, 2013). Advertisers can implant visuals that resonate with impressionable teenagers by using advertising execution strategies including humor, celebrity endorsement, and music. Despite the known negative effects of alcohol intake on society and health and the low awareness of warning indicators among adults, research suggests that the link between warning indications in advertising and alcohol consumption is still poorly understood. The study looked at how Nigerian university freshmen felt about the 18+ warning label in alcohol marketing.
The survey research design was used for the investigation. 195,000 undergraduate students from nine specifically chosen universities in South-West Nigeria made up the study’s target demographic. The selection procedure employed a multi-stage sampling technique. Based on the concentration of universities in the states, three states (Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo) were chosen through a purposeful sampling process. Federal, State, and private institutions were divided up among the states that were chosen. Purposefully choosing three universities from each state (one from each stratum). The sample size of 1,950 respondents, who were proportionately dispersed among the nine chosen colleges, was determined using Gay, Geoffrey, and Peter’s formula. The instrument was a questionnaire that had undergone validation.
The constructs’ Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients ranged from 0.735 to 0.945. 95.7% of respondents responded. Regression and correlation analysis were used to study the data.
The results showed a strong correlation (r=0.242; p0.05) between students’ knowledge of the 18+ warning notice and their attitudes about consumption. Students’ understanding of the 18+ warning notice and attitudes toward consuming had a significant positive connection (r=0.485; p0.05).
Also, there was a strong correlation between students’ attitudes about consumption and how credible they thought the 18+ warning sign was (r=0.664; p0.05). It was discovered that the 18+ sign had a substantial impact on underage consumers’ views about consuming (R2=0.494; p0.05). Undergraduates’ sentiments regarding the 18+ warning sign were strongly influenced by demographic factors (R2=0.017; p0.05).
The study came to the conclusion that the 18+ warning sign in marketing for alcoholic products deterred undergraduates from using alcohol.
According to the study, in order to be more socially responsible, advertisers, who sponsor advertisements that encourage alcohol consumption, should increase the usage of the 18+ warning sign and other warning labels. Also, in accordance with current legislation, advertising-relevant organizations should step up their efforts to monitor the substance of advertisements to ensure adherence to predetermined criteria.
Alcohol advertising, awareness, perception, alcohol use, and alcoholic beverages are some related terms.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Among teenagers, alcohol consumption may be the most widespread. It is a pervasive poison that can affect practically any organ or system of the body if consumed in excess (Anderson, 2007). Due to drunkenness, drinking alcohol involves a risk of negative health and social effects; it is to blame for a number of social, health, and economic damages, most pronounced in young people (Australian Medical Association, 2012). According to Chikere and Mayowa (2011), the dangers of excessive alcohol intake include cirrhosis of the liver, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, homicide, epilepsy, and other conditions.
The main purpose of drinking alcohol in previous decades was to provide amusement during ceremonies, but these days, both the quantity and the reasons for consumption are fast changing in Nigeria (Chikere & Mayowa, 2011). Nigeria is one of the thirty nations with the greatest per capita alcohol consumption in the world due in part to the new trend of alcohol drinking among young people nowadays (World Health Organization, 2004). The quantity of alcohol that Nigerian teenagers consume appears to contribute to a rise in the burden of alcohol-related difficulties, including addiction, subpar academic performance, dangerous driving, and health problems, to name a few (Dumbili, 2013). Despite efforts to stop it, underage drinking of alcohol continues to be a serious public health issue (Komro & Toomey, 2002).
Because advertising has been linked to underage alcohol purchase and usage, there has been debate in recent years over the function of advertising as a potential stimulant to alcohol consumption and as a contributor to alcohol abuse (Nelson, 2001). Advertising is “a organized and constructed non-personal delivery of information typically paid for and typically persuasive in character about things (goods, services, and ideas) by identified sponsors, through multiple media,” according to Arens (2006). (p. 7). Advertising gives the perception that, for a comparatively low cost, young people can psychologically relate to the idealized locations, way of life, and personality traits it portrays. Information provided by advertising can lead to more positive expectations about alcohol, which can influence actual or intended drinking behavior. Advertising is one potential source of information for young people regarding the expense of alcohol and its benefits (Saffer, 2002).
Teenage drinking behavior is a good indicator of how alcohol advertising has an impact. Young people between the ages of ten (10) and fourteen (14), in the early stages of adolescence, become attracted to alcohol commercials (14). Nonetheless, exposure to alcohol advertising raises the probability that a teen will begin drinking, and if they have already started drinking, there is a chance that their consumption will grow (Bouwmeester, n.d; Jones & Gordon, 2013).
Alcohol advertisements are seen by youths on different communication media, but television advertising seems to be the most powerful means of marketing alcohol because children and youths spend more time watching television than using any other type of media. (Australian Medical Association, 2012). Radio advertising and product placement in television programmeming provide additional avenues for promoting alcoholic beverages (Australian Medical Association, 2012). Children have been found to identify alcohol advertisements as the ones they like most among the advertisements to which they have been exposed, and their liking of alcohol advertisements has been linked to alcohol consumption among the youth (Gunter, Hansen and Touri, 2008). This was further re-affirmed in the statement of Anderson (2007) which states thus:
The adolescent brain undergoes major development, which makes adolescents more vulnerable to impulsivity with greater sensitivity to pleasure and reward. Young people who already have problems related to alcohol are likely to be particularly vulnerable to alcohol advertising, with the vulnerability increasing with increasing alcohol consumption. Alcohol advertising manipulates adolescents’ vulnerability by shaping their attitude, perceptions and particularly expectances about alcohol use, which then influence youth decisions to drink. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the enormous exposure to commercial communications, not only through traditional media, which are highly targeted to young people (p. 10).
Due to their stature and lack of drinking experience, young individuals are more susceptible to alcohol-related injury. The danger as a young adult increases with the amount of alcohol ingested throughout adolescence (Anderson, 2007). The majority of alcohol advertisements on television, in newspapers and magazines, as well as on billboards, contain the 18+ sign, which denotes that alcohol consumption is only permitted for those who are at least eighteen (18) years old. Based on the fact that alcohol commercials are appealing to young people, there is empirical evidence indicating there is a connection between alcohol advertisements and good attitudes regarding alcohol among young people. Alcohol advertisement, according to Saffer (2002), finds that there is a positive relationship between alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption because alcohol advertising influences knowledge, attitude, and intentions to drink, all of which are considered to have an impact on drinking.
According to Grube (2004), numerous alcohol commercials associate drinking with positive character traits like class, sociability, and physical attractiveness as well as with results like success, enjoyment, relaxation, romance, and adventure. These characteristics in alcohol commercials appeal to young people, who are drawn to them. The content of advertisements is related to expectations about young people using alcohol because of the appeals. However, there is ample evidence that some specific alcohol brands that appeal to youth are developed with youth in mind (Anderson, 2007). There is also evidence that cultural myths and symbols used in alcohol advertisements have powerful meanings for college students (Anderson, 2007). There are some elements that youths are attracted to, they are particularly drawn to elements of music, story, characters and humour (Anderson, 2007).
Varied responses can be exhibited by young people to alcohol advertising and these responses perhaps include awareness, perception, recognition and restraint. Attitude towards advertisements and perceptions of their messages can sometimes represent important variables which can mediate post-exposure influence of advertisements. Alcohol advertisements and the brands they promote may be noticed and recognized by young adults even long before they start drinking alcoholic beverages (Gunter et al., 2008). There is a concern that exposure of young people to alcohol advertisements could create favourable dispositions towards drinking and could also play a part in triggering early onset of alcohol consumption. There is however, a relationship between alcohol advertising and the onset or initiation of alcohol consumption among young adults. Alcohol advertising shapes the attitude, perceptions and expectancies around alcohol use which results in youth decisions to drink (Gunter et al., 2008; Chen, Grube Bersamin, Waiters & Keefe, 2005).
The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, a statutory regulatory authority, oversees advertising practice in Nigeria (APCON). The rules of the advertising code of ethics apply to all forms of media, including print, electronic, outdoor, and even movie theaters and viewing areas. Articles 32–37 of the Fifth Code of Advertising Practice contain the guidelines for this code of behavior. These articles prohibit alcohol advertisements from appearing in children’s religious and sporting programs, prohibit the use of children or athletes as models, prohibit references to religion or medicine, and prohibit the placement of advertisements for alcoholic beverages within 200 meters of any house of worship, hospitals, schools, or parking lots (APCON, 2012).
Alcohol commercials continue to seem tempting to kids and even appear to be directed at them, despite the efforts of APCON to control underage and youth drinking. Because most of these young people are exposed to alcohol advertising on the internet, which could make it challenging to avoid underage exposure to alcohol advertising, high levels of brand awareness among youths and the underage show the fragility of this existing legislation (Alcohol Concern, 2013). Given the current course of events, which could eventually lead to a complete ban on alcohol advertising, the alcohol industry developed the 18+ sign as an industry-based policy to stop underage drinking. Alcohol drinking is only permitted for those who are at least eighteen (18) years old, according to the 18+ sign. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to ascertain how university students in Southwest Nigeria feel about the 18+ symbol used in ads for alcoholic beverages.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Young people are routinely exposed to high levels of alcohol advertising even if laws are in place to protect them from it. Whether they are specifically targeted by advertisers or not, they are exposed to alcohol advertisements on television, radio, the internet, and in print media (Smith and Foxcroft, 2009). Since drinking among young people and those underage can have a lot of harmful effects, including alcohol addiction, accidents, subpar academic performance, hazardous sex, injuries, and even premature death, it has been a serious public health problem. It has been noted that young people are more prone to develop alcohol addictions and experience negative effects from alcohol if they begin drinking sooner and consume more alcohol while still young (Anderson, 2007).
The majority of these young folks don’t appear to be aware of the 18+ sign, despite the fact that commercials for alcoholic beverages appear in print, on television, and even on billboards. This sign is meant to serve as a deterrent to those who are underage. Many young people begin drinking earlier in life (Australian Medical Association, 2012). The fact that alcohol usage is usually linked in advertising to concepts like enjoyment, camaraderie, and humor raises yet another issue with alcohol advertising.
A large portion of alcohol advertising goes beyond outlining the specific characteristics of the alcoholic beverage to conjure up a glamorous and enjoyable image that may be alluring to young people, including those who are underage. Perhaps young adults and teenagers, who should be informed about the detrimental effects of alcohol intake on health and academic performance, make up the majority of university undergraduates in Nigeria today. The objective of this study was on how these university students responded to the 18+ label in commercials for alcoholic beverages such Trophy, 33 Larger Beer, Golgberg, Stout, Heinekens, and so on.
1.3 Objective of the Study
This study’s primary goal is to establish how college freshmen feel about the 18+ warning label on alcoholic beverage ads. The precise goals are to:
1. ascertain the association between the 18+ warning sign’s knowledge and university freshmen’s attitudes about alcohol intake;
2. examine the connection between university freshmen’s attitudes about alcohol consumption and their understanding of the 18+ warning notice;
3. ascertain the association between university freshmen’s attitudes about alcohol usage and their assessment of the believability of the 18+ warning sign;
4. Examine the impact of the 18+ warning notice on underage university students’ use of alcoholic beverages, and
5. ascertain the impact of demographic factors on undergraduates’ perceptions of the 18+ warning sign.
1.4 Research Questions
1. How do the attitude of people who see the 18+ warning sign and their awareness of