It was pointed out to me last weekend that the billboard closest to the treatment center where I hold a weekend recovery meeting displays a messsage very representative of the strange relationship our society has with alcohol. Drivers coming in from town toward the center see an advertisement for ice cold beer, but those leaving out of the center see a much different message on the reverse side promoting abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
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I doubt many others have noticed this incongruity. What if I could change out the cold beer side with an advertisement for meth or heroin, would Joe Public then notice that such advertising is counterproductive and not exactly in good taste? I’m not saying I want to ban alcohol advertising, just that I wish we didn’t glorify it so much and write off its damage to society and as an acceptable loss.
The billboard does serve as a great reminder to those coming to the clinic though. Are they driving toward trouble or headed for recovery?
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One of my friends is on facebook. She’s been clean and sober for a number of years. Facebook places vodka ads on her page. Incongruous.
How about a recovery story on the back of every whiskey bottle? Good reading..
On hoary nights…
that everyone drinks, and that everyone benefits.
A few weeks ago I received an advertisement from Kroger. It was all about selling me alcohol, with pictures of wine bottles and glasses, sangria and the like. Try this experiment if you watch TV: take note of how many shows you watch that have someone taking a drink, asking for a drink, booze glasses and bottles sitting around, people in a bar – it’s unbelievable how it runs through the fabric of society. When there’s a dinner scene, isn’t there almost always wine? There are some shows where the lead characters drink a lot, Two and a Half Men, Saving Grace, New Christine, and more. The alcohol companies don’t need advertising time, they’ve got it built into the shows.
think about how alcohol is ingrained in almost all our traditions from the wedding reception to the wake.