The Marin Institute is having a contest to combat the bombardment of beer ads viewed during the Super Bowl. Called the Free the Bowl Contest, Marin will award prizes like a Macbook laptop and iPods to the creators of the best 30- to 60-second anti-beer ads.
Why the contest? According to the Marin Institute’s website:
- In 2008, an estimated 30 MILLION underage youth viewed more ads for beer than any other single product during the Super Bowl. Millions more viewed beer ads online after the big game.
- The more youth are exposed to alcohol advertising, the more likely they are to drink, and drink to excess.
- 10.7 million underage youth drink; 7.2 million binge drink.
- Alcohol-related problems from underage drinking cost the country $60 billion annually.
“Year after year, Anheuser-Busch and the National Football League hide behind weak, ineffectual Beer Institute self-regulatory guidelines to justify exposing youth to exploitive alcohol ads,” said Michael Scippa, advocacy director at the Marin Institute. “Big Alcohol turns a deaf ear to our protests, so we want them to listen to compelling messages from young people who resent being targeted as new customers.”
The deadline to send in your anti-beer ad is January 25, 2009. Entries can be viewed on YouTube.com. The winner will be announced during the Super Bowl on February 1st. For more info on the contest, visit FreeTheBowl.com or view the YouTube video.
technorati tags: Marin Institute, alcohol, Super Bowl beer ads, Free the Bowl contest
