Zero-alcohol ads may increase teens’ intent to drink alcohol

Zero-alcohol ads may look harmless, but new research suggests they are associated with stronger brand loyalty and drinking intentions among teenagers, raising fresh questions about whether these campaigns indirectly promote alcohol itself.

Study: Adolescents’ Exposure to Zero-Alcohol Advertisements and Attitudes and Consumption Intentions Towards Alcohol: A Cross-Sectional Study. Image credit: SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com

A recent paper in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review examined whether adolescents are more likely to be favorable towards and intend to consume alcohol in association with exposure to zero-alcohol advertising.

Concerns grow over indirect alcohol promotion

Alcohol consumption is particularly dangerous during adolescence, when the brain is still rapidly developing and maturing. This has driven regulatory policy worldwide, seeking to increase the legal drinking age and discourage drinking in adolescence.

Zero-alcohol drinks often have the same brand name and look-alike packaging as alcoholic drinks. However, unlike alcohol, their advertising is largely unregulated in some jurisdictions and may fall outside alcohol-specific advertising restrictions. Thus, zero-alcohol beer may be advertised as a hydrating, health-promoting drink by sports sponsors, which could not be said of alcoholic drinks themselves.

Almost identical packaging and advertising lines for zero-alcohol and alcoholic drinks may prompt viewers to transfer loyalty from the alcoholic to the zero-alcohol drinks. Young people who are exposed to alcohol advertising, especially if they like the advertisements, are more likely to drink. Many alcoholic drink brands run zero-alcohol (<0.5 % alcohol by volume) advertisements under their brand name.

Alcohol consumption during adolescence is a risk factor for drinking in adult life. The WHO recommends reducing such exposure as one of the most cost-effective measures towards reducing ill-health related to alcohol.

Yet, such regulatory guidelines remain sketchy. For instance, many countries forbid alcohol advertising at locations or times when they are visible to young people, but these restrictions do not always extend to zero-alcohol products. Norway is among the few countries to completely ban the advertising of all products identified as alcoholic beverages, regardless of their alcohol content.

In contrast, Lithuanian courts dismissed such a policy on the grounds that there was no evidence that consumers would confuse zero-alcohol products with alcoholic products from the same parent brand. However, advertising research shows that both product types, especially when in similar categories, attract more liking and consumption.

The current study sought to identify associations between attitude and consumption intentions for alcoholic beverages and exposure to zero-alcohol beverage advertising among adolescents.

Australian teens viewed branded zero-alcohol ads

The study included a sample of young Australians aged 15-17. They viewed zero-alcohol advertisements from four companies that also sold alcoholic drinks under the same brand names, including one spirit or ready-to-drink advertisement, one wine advertisement, and two beer advertisements, with beer accounting for over 80 % of zero-alcohol drinks sold in Australia.

Participants were asked whether they had previously viewed each advertisement and whether they liked it. They also reported their attitudes toward alcoholic drinks in general using a five-item, five-point Likert scale with statements such as “Alcoholic drinks are something that I would enjoy” and “Alcoholic drinks would help me to feel accepted.”

Attitudes toward each parent alcohol brand were measured separately using a validated seven-point semantic differential scale, such as unappealing versus appealing and bad versus good, with responses averaged across items.

Intentions to consume alcohol were measured for both the parent brand and alcohol in general. Intentions to consume parent-brand alcohol were assessed using two five-point agreement items (“I would like to drink…” and “I intend to drink…”), while general alcohol intentions were measured using three five-point agreement items, including willingness to drink if offered and regular drinking.

Participants also reported previous exposure to zero-alcohol advertising, previous drinking, and previous consumption of zero-alcohol products. The four advertisements and the survey together took less than 10 minutes to complete, minimizing respondent fatigue.

The data were analyzed using linear mixed effects models and linear regression. Linear mixed-effects models accounted for repeated responses from the same participants and included individual-level variables such as socioeconomic factors, exposure levels, baseline attitudes toward alcohol, and drinking behavior. These models were used to examine associations between ad-specific exposure or liking and parent-brand alcohol attitudes and intentions. Linear regression was used to examine associations between location-based exposure and general alcohol attitudes and intentions.

Liking zero-alcohol ads tied to brand intent

Most participants were from metropolitan locations, and just over half were female. The most disadvantaged participants were somewhat underrepresented. Approximately 74 % had a parent present during the survey.

About 29 % reported having consumed one or more full alcoholic drinks at baseline. Up to 18 % had previously seen at least one of the zero-alcohol advertisements shown in the study, and up to 53 % reported liking them. Active dislike was the least common response.

Participants reported seeing zero-alcohol advertisements in an average of one location, most commonly in supermarkets, on social media, on other online platforms, and on television. Less common locations included sporting events, billboards, newspapers, and magazines.

Adolescents who had previously viewed, and particularly those who reported liking, the zero-alcohol advertisements were more likely to report favorable attitudes toward the corresponding parent-brand alcoholic drinks and stronger intentions to consume them. These associations were strongest and most consistent for the specific parent brands featured in the advertisements. Associations with alcoholic drinks in general were present but more limited.

This pattern aligns with earlier research showing links between exposure to or liking of alcohol-related advertising and adolescent drinking. However, the study does not establish causality, and the findings should be interpreted as cross-sectional associations rather than evidence that zero-alcohol advertising causes later drinking.

Previous research suggests that these relationships may be bidirectional, as adolescents who already drink may pay more attention to alcohol-related advertising, while those exposed to such advertising may be more likely to drink. Social media algorithms may further complicate this relationship by preferentially delivering alcohol-related content to users who show interest in such products.

Despite these caveats, the findings suggest that zero-alcohol advertising may operate as a form of surrogate marketing for alcoholic products from the same parent brands. However, the authors frame this as evidence that such advertising may function in this way, rather than definitive proof of intentional targeting. They point to visual brand alignment between zero-alcohol and alcoholic beverages, adolescents’ tendency to think of alcohol when presented with zero-alcohol drinks, previous policy analyses, and studies examining parent and adolescent attitudes toward zero-alcohol products as supporting context.

The lack of associations between self-reported location-based exposure and general alcohol attitudes or intentions may reflect recall bias, including the possibility that adolescents misidentify zero-alcohol drinks as alcoholic beverages.

Other limitations include the presence of a parent during survey completion, which may have influenced responses, and reliance on self-reported data, which may lack precision regarding the number and frequency of advertising exposures. The researchers also note that they did not aim to recruit a fully representative sample, but rather a subgroup that can be difficult to reach. Although quotas aligned the sample with the Australian population on gender, state or territory, and metropolitan versus regional location, it remained an online panel sample, and the most disadvantaged quintiles were slightly underrepresented.

Zero-alcohol marketing may shape teen alcohol attitudes

Adolescents who report exposure to zero-alcohol advertisements, especially those who report liking them, are more likely to express favorable attitudes toward and intentions to consume alcoholic drinks from the same parent brands. Policymakers may therefore wish to consider whether such advertising functions as indirect marketing for alcohol among a vulnerable age group.

Future research should include longitudinal follow-up and more direct measures of advertising exposure to clarify the direction of these associations. If confirmed, the findings would support applying similar regulatory standards to zero-alcohol advertising as currently apply to alcohol advertising.

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