Boston Beer pulls TV ads after complaints - Brief Article

Modern Brewery Age, Sept 9, 2002

AP--The Boston Beer Co. has decided to temporarily pull television ads that appear to depict underage drinking after complaints from a law enforcement group.

The decision came the same day that the company ran ads in Boston's two major newspapers apologizing for its sponsorship of a contest on a New York radio station two weeks ago in which a couple had public sex to try to win a trip to Boston.

The television spot, entitled "Noise," has been on the air for about a year. In the ad, young people hide their beers when police arrive in response to complaints about noise.

The National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, which first asked the Boston Beer Co. to pull the ad in May, argues that the drinkers would not bide their beer if they were of legal age; hence, the ad depicts illegal underage drinking.

The association called the spot "corporate irresponsibility" and persuaded the American Medical Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and other groups to write protest letters to Boston Beer.

"We take this complaint very seriously, and we've pulled the spot for September," said Boston Beer chief executive Martin Roper. "We are reviewing edits and other changes that would address their concerns."

Aiden Moore, secretary treasurer of the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association and the chief of enforcement of the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission, said he was "pleased the ad is off the air."

After the company's earlier rebuffs, the group decided to go public with the complaints this week. They cited study a study from the Georgetown University's Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth which found that this year, the spot aired 119 times during Simpsons episodes.

Roper said the company instructs its media buying service to buy air time only when adult viewership is high.

Company Chairman Jim Koch has to apologize for his appearance with shock jocks Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia, who were fired from WNEW-FM in New York for the Aug. 15 segment in which a couple was arrested after allegedly having sex in a St. Patrick's Cathedral vestibule near worshippers.

Opie and Anthony had been canned in 1998 by WAAF-FM in Worcester after announcing on April Fool's Day that Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was killed in a car crash.

The controversy comes as Boston Beer faces stiff competition to try and claim a younger market.

To get young men excited about the pricier product, Boston Beer has had to resort to "guerrilla tactics," such as the radio contest, to win young drinkers, said Babson College professor Kathleen Seiders.

Boston University professor Tobe Berkowitz said that it doesn't make sense to encourage underage drinking, but said "They seem to be miscalculating a lot when it comes to communicating their message."