Targeting of Magazine Alcohol Beverage Advertisements

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of targeting in a sample of 3, 131 alcohol beverage advertisements appearing in forty-two national circulation magazines. An analytic framework is provided which distinguishes structural targeting from content targeting of alcohol ads. Analysis of structural targeting, or the disproportionate concentration of alcohol beverage ads in magazines geared to different population subgroups, shows higher than expected concentrations in black-oriented, men's, and arts/science magazines and relatively low concentrations of alcohol beverage ads in magazines oriented to women and youth. Content targeting through the use of human models is evident in black-oriented magazines and certain types of women's magazines yet far less prevalent in youth-oriented publications. The article concludes with a discussion of the interpretive assumptions imbedded in research on targeting.