Christine Griffin of the University of Bath, along with colleagues from Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Birmingham in New York, say some anti-drinking advertising campaigns may be "catastrophically misconceived" because they play on the entertaining "drinking stories" that young people use to mark their social identity.

The researchers performed in-depth interviews with 94 young people in three British regions over a three-year period. They found the drinking stories shown in the ads also deepen bonds of friendship and cement group membership.

The study found that while many of the anti-drinking ads imply being very drunk with friends carries a penalty of social disapproval, many young people say the opposite is often the case, Griffin said.