This infographic from the Pat Moore Foundation, a drug and alcohol treatment center, is pretty one-sided. I understand that they’re trying to support their mission but they choose to overlook some obvious reasons for their facts.
#1-3 – All are true. We love beer. Beer is awesome.
#4 – Yes beer may be the beverage most commonly consumed by people stopped for driving impaired or alcohol-related crashes but it’s also the most popular alcoholic beverage. That’s like saying that Fords were the most common vehicle to be in an accident in 1915 when they were by far the most popular vehicle on the road.
#5 – Sure beer producers show more advertisements during college sports events than pro events. That’s because they know who their market is. Young drinkers of legal age consume more beer than the older audience of pro sports. It’s the same deal with McDonalds advertising more on children’s programming than on primetime television. They know when their advertising is most effective and they market to it. Every well marketed business does the same. It’s also easier for advertisers to get commercial space during college games compared the the crowded market filled with other products also bidding on commercial space during Monday Night Football, the Super Bowl, and the World Series.
#6 – 8th and 12th graders think they can acquire beer fairly easily. And? In school you could also acquire drugs easily but it doesn’t mean they all became drug addicts or even tried drugs. I think active parenting and a good relationship with your children goes much farther towards their choices involving drinking than the general ability to acquire alcohol. Anyone can walk into a drug store and load up on pain pills but that doesn’t automatically mean we’re all doing it.
#7 – A lobbyist group spending money on political contributions? No way! University of California has contributed $1.6 million to the Obama campaign, Goldman Sachs $1 million and Harvard, Google and Microsoft have all thrown him $800K. That doesn’t automatically make a company or group evil. It means they’re looking out for their best interests which all large companies and groups do. Why should this be a surprise?
#8 – This one is basically the same as #4.
#9 – Students find beer commercials more visually appealing than public service announcements?! Seriously? I’m pretty sure anyone, no matter the age group, would agree that beer commercials are more visually appealing than boring PSAs. That’s like asking someone which is more visually appealing, Katy Perry or a corpse. Theres nothing appealing about PSAs. They all come across like they’re scolding you for being a bad dog.
#10 – So companies spent money to market their product and in-turn created profits for their shareholders as they’re suppose to do and this is wrong in some way?
Look at where the data for the infographic comes from. The first site listed is BeerSoaksAmerica.org, a site that claims to be “a response to beer industry propaganda”. Sounds like a fair an impartial source for information. Looking at the site more, it’s a front for ads for online pharmacies and Cuban cigars. Seriously, look at it. They’ve peppered it with keywords and links to online pharmacies. Quite the credible spot for accurate information.