Mike’s Hard Lemonade & 21st Century Fox hit alcohol watchdog’s naughty list with Deadpool promotion
Both Mike’s Hard Lemonade and 21st Century Fox have been put in the Alcohol Justice “Doghouse" after the drinks product climbed on board the Deadpool marketing campaign trail.
The organization runs campaigns with communities and youth against the alcohol industry’s practices, specifically those targeting youth, and the recent alcopop manufacturer’s Deadpool promotion, featuring ads, products and point-of-sale that they say is attractive to a younger audience. The Mike’s Harder Lemonade campaign coincided wth the opening of the 21st Century Fox film.
"Though the alcohol industry claims 'Millennials' are their target alcopop audience, their promotions and campaigns effectively target youth who are years younger than the minimum legal drinking age," said Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director and CEO of Alcohol Justice. "As a result of the low prices, wide availability, and marketing tactics like this one by 21st Century Fox and Mike's Harder Lemonade, alcopops are very popular among underage youth and responsible for a disproportionate share of underage alcohol-related harm.”
The organization claims that the term “Millennial” includes youth as young as ages 16-20, below the legal drinking age of 21 in the United States — and that alcopops, flavored malt beverages that were introduced to the US market in the late 1990s, are desirable to younger consumers due to their lower cost, sweet taste and relatively high alcohol content. Additionally, according to a study from the organization, young alcopop consumers were four times more likely to engage in binge drinking and were engaged in more physical fights.
Alcohol Justice are encouraging people to take action through their site, by directly contacting both Mike’s Hard Lemonade and 21st Century Fox.