Graphic new ads show consequences of binge drinking
Graphic images of all-too-common consequences of binge drinking feature in a hard-hitting advertising campaign launched by ALAC this month. The commercials are part of an ongoing campaign to address New Zealanders’ propensity to binge drinkThe new campaign was launched by Associate Minister of Health Hon Damien O’Connor on 2 April.
The commercials show people making poor and dangerous choices after excessive drinking and illustrate realistic transformations – when good times turn bad. They continue the message It’s not the drinking, it’s how we’re drinking.
ALAC CEO Gerard Vaughan says he makes no excuses for the hard-hitting nature of the campaign, as it takes an honest approach to what is a serious problem for many people.
“The commercials mirror the serious effects of alcohol misuse and do not exaggerate what is happening every week around New Zealand.
“They aim to get New Zealanders thinking about the personal costs of binge drinking – to them, and their friends and family.”
ALAC’s drinking culture campaign is part of a programme of work designed to change the current environment of tolerance of drunkenness, binge drinking and intoxication.
“We must increase the number of drinkers who think about the effects of getting drunk and who agree it is never okay to get drunk. We want people to reflect on the messages from their own perspective and experiences, and consider changing harmful drinking habits,” Mr Vaughan says.
Each of the three commercials follows one person from when they start drinking to a shocking conclusion. We see ‘Uncle Mark’ having a few beers at a barbeque, ‘Lisa’ having drinks after work, and ‘Danny’ drinking at the local pub or sports club. Uncle Mark is a show off drinker, Lisa is drinking to boost her confidence, and Danny is a team drinker.
As they continue to drink, there is a ‘tipping point’ when their harmless behaviour becomes harmful – to themselves and others. We follow them along their drinking pathway as they continue to make poor choices due to the volume of alcohol consumed.
The commercials include information about how to get help if you are concerned about your drinking, or the drinking of others. An 0800 number (0800 787 797) directs callers to the Alcohol Drug Helpline, while the campaign website – www.hadenough.org.nz – has information about binge drinking, where to go for help, being a responsible host, managing your drinking, and campaign material.
Mr Vaughan says binge drinking causes a lot of harm to New Zealanders and their families.
“Consquences of binge drinking include injury and crime, domestic violence, neglect of family responsibilities like providing basic necessities of life to children of food and adequate clothing, lost productivity at work, hospital admissions, memory loss and embarrassment, depression and more.”
He says while the campaign targets problems caused by excessive drinking it does not target drinking per se.
“Campaign advertisements are not aimed at drinkers who use alcohol only in moderation.
“But it is time to mature as a nation about the degree of binge drinking happening our communities and the effects it has.
“When there are figures, for example, showing some 70 percent of accident and emergency hospital admissions and 75 to 90 percent of weekend crime is alcohol-related; any glamorising of binge drinking and intoxication should stop.”
ALAC research carried out in 2007 found that 25 percent of those surveyed were binge drinkers, 62 percent were moderate drinkers and 12 were non-drinkers.
Gerard Vaughan says the cost of the advertising campaign – about $3 million per year – can be compared to the costs of alcohol-related harm – thought be between $1 billion and $4 billion a year.
“There are personal, family and community costs as well that are not included in this figure. It will be money well spent if this campaign reduces, even by a small amount, the effects of binge drinking.
“Despite the success of previous advertising, the message has yet to get through to many people about the harms caused by excessive drinking.
“Previous advertising has focused on ‘softer’ consequences such as embarrassment and regret. The new campaign focuses on more serious stark realities.”
He says the campaign, which also features print advertising, is not about simply delivering a social message by mass media.
“We know that advertising alone will not change behaviour, which is why this campaign is just one part of a multi-faceted programme to tackle increase moderation and reduce alcohol-related harm. However, advertising – in conjunction with a whole range of other strategies – can influence behaviour.
“These other strategies include policy work, education, service provision and enforcement.
“For example, ALAC is committed to strengthening its links to communities which are most affected by alcohol, such as, Maori, young people between the ages of 12 and 24, and Pacific Island groups. These links and other less high profile and local programmes will augment the new campaign.”
Awareness of ‘drinking culture’ advertising
Research undertaken between July and September 2007(1) found that:
- almost all adults are aware of the discussion about New Zealand’s drinking culture. Three-quarters of adults had unprompted awareness of ALAC’s drinking culture campaign, and 99 percent were aware of the campaign when prompted
- one-third of all adults who were aware of any drinking habits-related advertising said they had discussed this advertising with other people
- one quarter of adults who said they were now drinking less indicated that their decision to drink less had been influenced in some way by the alcohol-related publicity they had seen. This represents 10 percent of all drinkers
- there are high levels of awareness of the campaign message “It’s not the drinking, it’s how we are drinking”, with one third of all adults having unprompted awareness of this message and 97 percent being aware of it when prompted
- well over half of adult New Zealanders (65 percent) were thinking about the harms to themselves and others that resulted from their drinking
- almost three-quarters of adult New Zealanders agreed they were more likely to cause serious harm to themselves or others when they got drunk.
(1) Research New Zealand. ALAC Alcohol Monitor – Adults and Youth 2006-07 Drinking Behaviours Report.
April 25 2008 05:28 pm | Binge Drinking and Commercials
Joanna on 07 May 2008 at 4:46 pm #
While I appreciate that ALAC is trying to make a point that bad decisions happen as a result of drinking too much, I feel like the new “It’s how we’re drinking” ad featuring ‘Lisa’ is incredibly offensive, and perpetuates the stereotype that often surrounds rape that the victim was “asking for it”.
In your previous ads, you showed a woman disgusted with herself for choosing to sleep with a workmate. That’s fair enough, that is a choice that she made, albeit a bad one. Rape is never a choice.
Your ad runs the risk of making women and men who are the victims of sexual assault believe that it is their fault, which is an antiquated idea, and is quite frankly disgusting. I have also made an official complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority as well, under the following sections of the Ethics section of the Codes, namely:
3. No advertisement should be misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive the consumer.
4. All advertisements should be prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society.
Julie Fairey on 08 May 2008 at 3:34 pm #
Those reading this may be interested in several posts at The Hand Mirror which are critical of the “Lisa” advert, which promotes a number of myths about rape.
Post #1 – http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-victim-blaming-its-not-how-you.html
Post #2 – http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-morning-i-heard-nine-to-noon.html
Post #3 –
http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2008/05/money-meet-mouth-my-complaint-to-alac.html
Post 3 contains the text of a complaint I have made to ALAC and the Advertising Standards Authority about the Lisa ad.
In general I actually agree with many of the points made in the above blog post about the campaign – we do need to change our drinking culture, and in particular we need people to realise that binge drinking is not a good option. However I do not believe it was necessary for ALAC to promote a number of myths about rape to get these points across.
admin on 13 May 2008 at 10:38 am #
ALAC Comments
The message in all three of our advertisements is that binge drinking increases the risks of harm to yourself or harm to others. The advertisements however are not about blame. We have conducted a lot of focus group testing (including with young women who drink) to ensure that the take out message from these adverts is about increased risks from binge drinking. At ALAC we are very clear that while binge drinking does increase your risk of harm, this does not mean that if you are a victim of a crime while drunk that you are to blame. This point did test positively with our target audiences, that the advertisement was about highlighting real risks from drinking and not about apportioning blame.
However given the strong messages in the advertisements we did expect a range of responses from the general public. The feedback that we have received has reflected this broad range of responses. As well as receiving a considerable amount of support for tackling the difficult issue of the real impacts and costs of our binge drinking culture, we have also received some complaints that we have gone too far in the use of “shock tactics” and in particular that the ad showing harm to a child should not be viewed during the day. We have also received two complaints (as well as your phone call) about the ad showing a young women binge drinking. One of the complaints raised the same issue as yourself, while the other objected to the advertisement portraying men as predators. The Advertising Standards Authority has also received some complaints on our advertising, and we are expecting them to consider these complaints and make their decision at their meeting in May.
We have thought long and hard about our decision to develop such strong messages as seen in all three of our latest advertisements. There is a very real urgency to do something about changing New Zealand’s binge drinking culture as it is creating an enormous amount of preventable harm. Research statistics from police, ministry of transport and hospital emergency services show that harms for women are increasing and that if the trend continues they will start to outstrip males in terms of harms from alcohol use. These statistics are also supported by anecdotal information on trends from many of our partner organisations in health and social services who we shared the advertisements with prior to going to air.
Anna McMartin on 14 May 2008 at 2:32 pm #
While generally supportive of ALAC’s work to reduce alcohol-related harm, I share Joanna and Julie’s concerns about the current ‘Lisa’ ad.
I think it is mistaken to suggest that excess alcohol increases women’s risk of rape. Rapists increase women’s risk of rape. Perhaps the ad is intended to suggest that alcohol reduces women’s capacity to fight off attackers, but this places the onus on women to stop rape, not on the men carrying out attacks on women.
We do not implicitly hold victims of other sorts of crimes responsible for failing to prevent their own victimisation.
Anna McM
Ari on 14 May 2008 at 6:30 pm #
Thanks for your reply- I agree that shock tactics are going to be necessary to deal with our overblown drinking culture in New Zealand.
The problem I have with this ad is less with explicit blame and more with tacit implication of responsibility- by making the women the “central” character in a case of stranger rape, it makes stranger rape seem like a “women’s issue”, which men can disavow responsibility for. Perhaps in future campaigns you will consider reversing your protagonist in these sorts of cases?
The other really pressing concern is the fact that stranger rape is given misrepresentative priority as a social issue, with most rapes committed by trusted family, friends, or even partners. I’m pretty certain I’ve seen you run campaigns along those lines before, and I suggest that if you want to raise social awareness about rape as a consequence of alcohol, this would be the most responsible way to do so, and all the more impactful because the rape also destroys a valued relationship in addition to potentially phyiscally harming and traumatising the victim.
sarah on 24 May 2008 at 3:10 pm #
I agree that the advertisements are hard to look at. but that was their intended message i can imagine they have been set up in such a way to get impact to get the shock factor
its it the realism of what nz’s binge culture has come to
the adverts are hard hiting and obvious bringing home the unforntunate unglamorous side of drinking for alot of people, and because it is hitting home so much, it is becoming offensive to some people.
Stephanie on 25 May 2008 at 12:34 pm #
See, there’s “shock tactics”. Apparently *men* get “shock tactics”. Then there’s, “stop drinking or you will get raped”. Apparently that’s what women get. But hey, I guess whatever it takes to stop people consuming the Demon Drink, even if that means treating men like they have responsibility for their actions – unless some stupid woman goes and ASKS for it.
Anna McMartin on 30 May 2008 at 9:55 am #
My concern is not with so-called shock tactics, used for the right reasons and with the backing of research. If the rapist was the central character of the Lisa ad, and the ad’s message was that men can and should control their sexual behaviour, that would be fine with me.
What I don’t like is the idea that women make themselves ‘vulnerable’ to rape. This tells a woman that she would likely not have been raped but for her own foolishness and poor choices. This is a profoundly damaging thing to imply to a woman who has been raped. It adds to her guilt, shame and humiliation, and makes her less likely to report her attack to the Police. A man can control his sexual behaviour. A woman’s drunkenness, her short skirt, her walking alone in a dark place have no bearing whatsoever on his choices about his sexual conduct. Alcohol might affect his choices, but somehow it is socially more palatable to focus on women’s drunken sexual ‘misconduct’ than men’s.
Most people are concerned by racial violence, but few would support an ad which urged Muslims, for example, to avoid making themselves ‘vulnerable’ by staying out of the way of white people. Most people would recognise that it is the right of Muslim people to go about their business, whether we particularly like what it is they’re doing or not; and we would hold racist attackers fully and unequivocally responsible for their behaviour. We would ask the racists to modify their behaviour, not the Muslim community.
I would very much like to hear the response of ALAC to these points, and learn whether ALAC consulted with Rape Crisis about the effects of the ‘Lisa’ ad on those affected by rape and sexual assault.
NS on 03 Jun 2008 at 1:37 am #
I’ve seen a campaign in the UK that does it by preying on something entirely different — Vanity. There is statistical evidence that women who drink, end up losing their looks faster.
Check out this website for a detailed view of it. . .www.bebo.com/dasl you can upload your photo, and it dramatically ages you based on the amount of units you consume in a week.
Freddy on 12 Jun 2008 at 1:16 pm #
I am unsure what all the controversy is about. As far as I am aware incredibly drunk women have been raped because they have been drunk. This is an enormous problem obviously. Is this false? If not the ad is simply portraying something that happens.
When I saw the ad I had absolutely no impression that ‘lisa’ was ‘asking for it’. If such events occur (and they do) as the result of binge drinking women should be cautioned. This over emotional reaction is completely baffling. I don’t think anyone who saw this ad would feel that ‘lisa’ was at fault. As far as I can tell there is absolutely no deception and whoever it was who complained about the ad on this basis is just sinking into the mire of blind stupidity.
thehairyarmpit on 14 Jun 2008 at 10:52 am #
The Lisa Ads are a disgrace and promote myths about rape. Lisa isn’t at fault! She is drunk and vulnerable and doesn’t deserve to be raped! Every ALAC ad involving women has some kind of sexual connotation and I think ALAC discriminates against women.
I didn’t like the other ads with the woman going home with some random guy who wasn’t that attractive either. ALAC is just promoting more myths, this time about people’s looks.
Get over yourselves ALAC! Take the Lisa ad away and stop promoting the idea that women’s rape is somehow their fault. Women aren’t even going to the police to report rapes any more – they often lose their court cases and are treated like garbage in the courtroom and the media.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4582263a11.html
Women are usually raped by someone they know and trust! There’s thousands of stories of women getting drunk at a party, passing out and then waking up to some “so called” friend raping them.
This is not on ALAC! You owe NZ female rape victims an apology! Your “shock tactics” regarding women’s drinking won’t stop them being raped!
A on 15 Jun 2008 at 2:40 pm #
Freddy, as someone who has been in Lisa’s position, I can assure that women who have been victims of sexual violence when drunk do blame themselves. I never reported my attack to the Police because I didn’t want to be told I’d been foolish, or that my own poor choices had lead to the assault. I couldn’t even talk about what had happened to me for five years because I felt so ashamed.
Jenny on 17 Jun 2008 at 3:03 pm #
I did not think Lisa was “asking for it” however, when woman are that intoxicated they can find themselves in situations that they are too drunk to control, and like men, can make bad decisions or judgements. I say good on ALAC for this campaign, its time NZ woke up about levels of intoxication and the potentially dangerous results.
I believe this campaign will prevent some rapes and that has to be a good thing. My 16 year old cousin was raped while leglessly drunk at a party, if she hadn’t been so drunk she may have been smart enough to get herself out of that situation. I know all the ‘no one deserves to get raped’, and ‘it’s not the victims fault’ arguments but lets face it, thats reality, its a dangerous world out there and everyone has to learn how to look after and protect themselves. Our country’s young women need to take responisblity and stop getting trolleyed.
A on 18 Jun 2008 at 10:17 am #
Jenny, you’ve just illustrated beautifully the kind of attitude that increases the distress of victims of sexual violence, and lets their attackers off the hook. I hope you didn’t let your cousin know she was raped because she wasn’t ’smart enough’ or didn’t ‘take responsibility’ – there’s probably nothing more effective you could have done to increase her pain and shame. When an elderly person is attacked in a home invasion, do you berate her for not being smart and responsible enough to get a good security system, or do you blame her attacker? Who knows but the guy who attacked your cousin was also the guy who attacked me, and who I didn’t report to the Police because I was too ashamed.
Julie Fairey on 18 Jun 2008 at 10:42 am #
Jenny, I really hope you haven’t told your 16 yo cousin that she could have avoided being raped if she hadn’t been drunk. That’s simply awful. No one asks for rape. No one is to blame for their own violation. By saying that she could have avoided it if she hadn’t been drunk you are clearly saying that she was partly to blame. Actually she wasn’t responsible for someone else’s sexual response, or for their violence to her.
Someone made the point to me recently that in the Danny ad the binge drinker elbows a woman in the face. If she had been drunk would she have been at fault, because she didn’t avoid the elbow? No. Why should it be any different just because the violence that Lisa suffers is sexual?
Megan on 18 Jun 2008 at 11:13 am #
Wow, Jenny, that’s….well, a bit harsh don’t you think? Your 16 year old cousin may have “known how to get out of the situation” were she sober, but what you don’t seem to understand is that she didn’t put herself in that situation. Her rapist did. She wasn’t raped because she was drunk, she was raped because she was near a rapist.
But I don’t know why I am bothering to try and convince you, because you are never going to believe me. Our country’s young women need to take responsibility and stop getting trolleyed, but god forbid a rapist take responsibility for what he’s done.
I hope your cousin is ok, and she has better support than you around her. People that won’t blame her for the indescribably horrible thing that happened to her.
Ms Poinsettia on 18 Jun 2008 at 12:33 pm #
I think an important point is the context of the Lisa ad. It is part of a series in which the other two characters are clearly responsible for harming themselves and others. But Lisa is not responsible for being raped. If this ad was part of a series that showed how alcohol made people vulnerable to a variety of attacks I wouldn’t have such a problem with it. But instead this series of ads is clearly about how drinking to excess *causes* harmful behaviour. Myths about drunk women being (partially) responsible for getting raped are false, harmful, and part of the reason women don’t want to report or press charges for rape.
Felix on 18 Jun 2008 at 11:30 pm #
Jenny,
When you say your cousin might not have been raped if she were more sober you are making a huge assumption about the rapist – that he is willing to rape a drunk woman but not a sober or less-drunk one.
The “dangerous world” you describe seems to be one in which ordinary men suddenly become rapists when presented with a drunk woman – rather than one populated by women, men, and men who rape.
Eva M on 19 Jun 2008 at 8:56 am #
I have to agree with Freddy here. The ad does not insinuate that ‘Lisa’ is to blame. I would suggest that the ad is trying to:
Create impact and raise awareness of the effects of binge drinking.
If these ads make just one person think about their own drinking or the drinking of their friends then they are on track.
Unfortunately in this day and age for every drunk woman their is usually a drunk man ready to prey. I have supported my friends through the shame, guilt and the pain of these incidents.
The ads are not saying that Lisa is asking to be raped. They are saying “If this looks like you – think about it – it is not safe to be this drunk.
Julie Fairey on 20 Jun 2008 at 12:58 pm #
Eva, if these ads make many women who have been victims of sexual assault feel to blame for the attack they suffered, does that not concern you?
Lita on 29 Jun 2008 at 12:56 pm #
I agree entirely with Joanna’s point. The ad implies Lisa is to blame for her assault. It should be taken off air.
michele on 08 Jul 2008 at 3:47 pm #
I have two daughters – what do I tell them? It’s a womens right to get drunk and reclaim the night girls – don’t live in fear? Very noble and rational.
Real life is anything but noble and rational. I love them and want to protect them – the message is therefore – don’t let booze dull your judgement so you don’t notice when you are in danger. Why would any mother not tell her daughter that? Good on you ALAC for having the courage to to tell it like it is – not how we wish it was.
thehairyarmpit on 04 Aug 2008 at 2:47 pm #
I just noticed in a women’s magazine another advertisement from ALAC depicting a women with a hangover, lying on her bed in her underpants with a wine glass over her body and a small child standing in the doorway. I would really like to know who is making these advertisements because it seems that every one ALAC churns out that depicts women’s problem drinking has some kind of sexual connotation and I find it disturbing and deeply offensive. How dare you ALAC!
thehairyarmpit on 07 Aug 2008 at 12:53 pm #
And another thing ALAC – Why don’t you try doing something different? There are plenty of women getting drunk, getting into fights and verbally abusing the police. There are also the men and women who get drunk and cheat on their partners and feel guilty about it the next day. I’m not taking any notice of these advertisements any more because you are just using shock tactics to try and scare people away from drinking. These methods never work. What people need is education and support if they have a drinking problem.
Lifu on 10 Oct 2008 at 4:11 pm #
I think it is important that you also need to target the audience who intends to get drunk and is fully aware of their consequence of their actions. I was watching the television program 60 Minutes, where they were talking about womens who were aware of their actions and do not care about it, they simply want to drink a LOT.