CSR campaign used as alcohol advert

CSR campaign used as alcohol advertisement
An excellent example of CSR that missed the point of achieving responsible
drinking habits, while actually functioning as alcohol advertisement, was
2008’s Diageo ‘The choice is yours’ campaign (7, page 1590). The campaign
implied that being very drunk carries a penalty of social disapproval. It did
so by showing the embarrassing consequences of being thrown out of a club,
amongst other things. Research by the University of Bath conversely shows
that such incidents are actually seen by young people as a illustration of a
‘fun’ night out, instead of cautionary tales (8). While Diageo held fast to the
idea that ‘young adults were more likely to consider drinking responsibly if
they believed that by drinking excessively they would be in danger of losing
their social credibility and standing,’ (7, page 1590) the University of Bath in
contrary stated that: “Extreme inebriation is often seen as a source of personal
esteem and social affirmation amongst young people” (8).
Furthermore, the website of the ‘The choice is yours’ campaign shows the
logo’s of the drinks of Diageo (7, page 1590). So while the website pertains to
be educational it is actually and very transparently an advertisement.



Research by the University of Bath conversely shows
that such incidents are actually seen by young people as a illustration of a
‘fun’ night out, instead of cautionary tales

While Diageo held fast to the
idea that ‘young adults were more likely to consider drinking responsibly if
they believed that by drinking excessively they would be in danger of losing
their social credibility and standing