British anti-drinking ads may not work

BATH, England, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- British anti-drinking ads depicting imbibers being thrown out of a bar or passing out are meant to be cautionary tales, but may be having the opposite effect.

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.