The framing of alcohol in (non-)sponsored movies: A comparative content analysis of alcohol advertising and portrayals in sponsored and non-sponsored Dutch movies

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample: eight Dutch movies sponsored by an alcohol brand and eight non-sponsored movies.

Movie title	Year	Sponsor	Age and warning lable	Genre
Verliefd op Ibiza	2013	Licor 43	12 - anxiety/sex/bad language/drugs and/ or alcohol abuse	Romance/entertainment/comedy
Toscaanse bruiloft	2014	Non-sponsored	12 - violence/bad language/drugs and/or alcohol abuse	Romance/comedy
Soof	2013	Tia Maria	12 - sex/bad language	Romance/comedy
Alles is familie	2012	Non-sponsored	12 - bad language/drugs and/or alcohol abuse	Drama/romance/entertainment/ comedy
Mannenharten	2013	Disaronno	9 - anxiety/bad language	Drama/romance/comedy
Gooische vrouwen	2011	Non-sponsored	9 - anxiety/bad language	Drama/romance/comedy
Komt een vrouw bij de dokter	2009	Jameson	12 - anxiety/sex/bad language	Drama
De gelukkige huisvrouw	2010	Non-sponsored	12 - anxiety/sex/bad language	Drama
Hartenstraat	2014	Jameson	12 - sex/bad language	Romance/comedy
Smoorverliefd	2013	Non-sponsored	12 - sex/bad language	Drama/romance/comedy
De verbouwing	2012	Bockor	12 - anxiety/sex/bad language/drugs and/ or alcohol abuse	Thriller
Loft	2010	Non-sponsored	12 - violence/anxiety/sex/bad language/drugs and/or alcohol abuse	Romance/thriller
All stars 2: Old stars	2011	Amstel	12 - anxiety/sex/bad language/discrimination	Humor/entertainment
Alleen maar nette mensen	2012	Non-sponsored	12 - violence/sex/bad language/discrimination	Comedy
De eetclub	2010	Licor 43	12 - violence/anxiety/sex/bad language	Thriller
Daglicht	2013	Non-sponsored	12 - violence/anxiety/sex/bad language	Drama/thriller

Table 2. Coding scheme and Kappa for portrayal characteristics, including alcohol consumption, group size, product category, age, gender, location, time, décor and background characters.

Code	Sub code	Description/example	Kappa
Alcohol consumption	No consumption	There is no consumption, or other references to alcohol	0.86
	Passive consumption	Character is holding an alcoholic drink but is not actually consuming it
	Active consumption	Character is actually consuming alcohol
Group size	Not applicable	There is no alcohol consumption or it concerns a background portrayal	0.86
	1 person	The character is drinking alone, no other characters are directly involved in the scene
	2 persons	Two characters are directly involved in the scene; they do necessarily both consume alcohol
	3–5 persons	Three to five characters are directly involved in the scene; they do not necessarily all consume alcohol
	6–9 persons	Six to nine characters are directly involved in the scene; they do not necessarily all consume alcohol
	>10 persons	More than ten characters are directly involved in the scene; they do not necessarily all consume alcohol
Product category	Beer	Beer cans, bottles, glasses	0.91
	Wine	Wine bottles, glasses
	Port/sherry/vermouth
	Liquor	Vodka, rum, whisky, liquor, liquor glasses and bottles
	Cocktails and mixed drinks	Cocktail glasses
	Champagne/prosecco/sparkling wine	Flûte, champagne bottles
	Other alcoholic drinks	Other alcoholic drinks or when several drinks are visible in the background
Age	Not applicable	There is no alcohol consumption or it concerns a background portrayal	0.85
	Younger than 18 years
	Between 18 and 35 years
	Between 36 and 50 years
	Older than 50 years
Gender	Not applicable	There is no alcohol consumption or it concerns a background portrayal	0.85
	Man
	Woman
Location	At home	In the kitchen, garden, living room, bathroom, bedroom, etc.	0.89
	Someone else’s home	At family/friends/neighbors/acquaintances’ kitchen, garden, living room, bathroom, bedroom, etc.
	Work/school environment	Office, school
	Sports club	Football field, tennis court, golf court, sports canteen
	Commercial place	Restaurant, pub, nightclub, lunchroom, terrace
	Festival	Organised party in the open
	Car	In, near and around the car
	Public space	Bus shelter, park, shopping centre, station
	Holiday address	Camping, bungalow park, hotel
	Supermarket	Supermarket
	Other	Boat, crematorium, store, aeroplane
Time	Morning (5.00 a.m.–11.00 a.m.)	During breakfast	0.76
	Probably in the morning (5.00 a.m.–11.00 a.m.)
	Afternoon (11.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m.)	During lunch
	Probably in the afternoon (11.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m.)
	Evening (5.00 p.m.–11.00 p.m.)	During dinner
	Probably in the evening (5.00 p.m.–11.00 p.m.)
	Night (11.00 p.m.–5.00 a.m.)	During nightlife
	Probably in the night (11.00 p.m.–5.00 a.m.)
	Unknown	The time of the day cannot be determined
Decor	No	There are no alcohol-related attributes visible in the decor, such as bottles behind the bar	0.85
	Yes	There are alcohol-related attributes visible in the decor, such as bottles behind the bar
Visibility portrayal	Not visible	There is no alcohol portrayal visible, e.g. only audible	0.80
	Visible on background	The alcohol portrayal is not clearly visible, e.g. background characters are drinking wine
	Visible on foreground	The alcohol portrayal is clearly visible, e.g. main characters are drinking wine
Background characters consuming alcohol	No	There are no background characters (not part of the storyline) who consume alcohol	0.91
	Yes	There are background characters (not part of the storyline) who consume alcohol

Table 3. Coding scheme and Kappa for brand visibility and brand that is visible.

	Description/example	Kappa
Brand visibility
Not visible	The brand of the product is not visible	0.82
Visible	The brand of the product is visible
Brand that is visible
Open question	Only when a brand is visible	1.00

Table 4. Coding scheme and Kappa for product placement strategies, including modality, valence and plot connection.

	Description/example	Kappa
Modality
Audio	Somebody is talking about alcohol	0.97
Visual	The alcohol portrayal is visible
Audio-visual	Combination of audio and visual, somebody is talking about alcohol and the alcohol is visible
Valence
Not applicable	There is no alcohol consumption or it concerns a background portrayal	0.82
Positive	For example, to celebrate something; when the consumption of alcohol is associated with fun, humour and friendship
Negative	For example, to drown sadness, when the character is drunk, negative consequences like violence or in combination with drugs
Plot integration
Yes	Without the alcohol portrayal the story would be different, e.g. alcohol consumption on a party	0.85
Somehow	The alcohol portrayal has somehow added value for the story, e.g. when the character is drinking wine during dinner
No	The alcohol portrayal has no added value for the story; it could be replaced by a non-alcoholic drink

Table 5. Coding scheme and Kappa for law compliance, including six criteria for advertising for alcoholic beverages.

	Description/example	Kappa
Alcohol consumption by minors (<18 years)
Yes	The character who is consuming alcohol is younger than 18 years.	1.00
No	The character is older than 18 years.
Alcohol consumption results in better physical performance or driving behaviour
Yes	Alcohol consumption does clearly result in better physical performance or driving behaviour.	1.00
Somehow	Alcohol consumption does somehow result in better physical performance or driving behaviour.
No	Alcohol consumption does not result in better physical performance or driving behaviour.
Alcohol consumption induces social or sexual success
Yes	Alcohol consumption clearly induces social or sexual success, e.g. a belly shot	0.91
Somehow	Alcohol consumption somehow induces social or sexual success, e.g. a “gold-digger”, drinking champagne to show social or sexual success or taking champagne to have success on a date.
No	Alcohol consumption does not induce social or sexual success.
Alcohol as a therapeutic drug, to calm or to reduce stress
Yes	Alcohol consumption is clearly used as a therapeutic drug; to calm or to reduce stress, e.g. when someone is drinking a glass of liquor in one time because he/she is sad.	1.00
Somehow	Alcohol consumption is somehow used as a therapeutic drug, to calm or to reduce stress, e.g. when someone orders alcohol when she/he has some personal issues.
No	Alcohol consumption is not used as a therapeutic drug, to calm or to reduce stress.
Excessive alcohol consumption is encouraged or abstinence is discouraged
Yes	Excessive alcohol consumption is clearly encouraged or abstinence is discouraged, e.g. when someone encourages a person to drink alcohol mixed with drugs without knowing or encouraging minors to consume alcohol.	0.75
Somehow	Excessive alcohol consumption is somehow encouraged or abstinence is discouraged, e.g. when someone is refilling a glass without asking.
No	Excessive alcohol consumption is not encouraged or abstinence is not discouraged.
Emphasis is placed on the level of alcohol
Yes	Emphasis is clearly placed on the level of alcohol.	1.00
Somehow	Emphasis is somehow placed on the level of alcohol.
No	Emphasis is not placed on the level of alcohol.

Table 6. Results of portrayal characteristics (sponsored movies versus non-sponsored).

	Total	Sponsored	Non-sponsored
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	χ^2	p Value
Total	937 (100)	509 (54)	428 (46)
Alcohol consumption
No consumption	232 (25)	142 (28)	90 (21)	7.62	0.022
Passive consumption	454 (49)	228 (45)	226 (53)
Active consumption	251 (27)	139 (27)	112 (26)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Group size
1 person	25 (4)	16 (5)	9 (3)	31.91	0.000
2 persons	147 (24)	99 (31)	48 (17)
3–5 persons	214 (35)	93 (29)	121 (42)
6–9 persons	172 (27)	95 (29)	77 (27)
>10 persons	49 (8)	16 (5)	33 (11)
Not applicable^a	330	190	140
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Product category
Beer	111 (12)	62 (12)	49 (11)	17.74	0.001
Wine	321 (34)	168 (33)	153 (36)
Liquor	100 (11)	73 (14)	27 (6)
Champagne	248 (27)	121 (24)	127 (30)
Other^b	157 (17)	85 (17)	72 (17)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Age
Younger than 18 years	6 (1)	6 (2)	0 (0)	40.26	0.000
Between 18 and 35 years	238 (39)	122 (38)	116 (40)
Between 36 and 50 years	273 (45)	167 (52)	106 (37)
Older than 50 years	90 (15)	24 (8)	66 (23)
Not applicable^a	330	190	140
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Gender
Men	356 (59)	179 (56)	177 (61)	397	0.138
Women	251 (41)	140 (44)	111 (39)
Not applicable^a	330	190	140
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Location
At home	203 (22)	114 (22)	89 (21)	25.97	0.000
Someone else’s home	263 (28)	112 (22)	151 (35)
Commercial place	286 (31)	166 (33)	120 (28)
Holiday address	65 (7)	35 (7)	30 (7)
Other^c	120 (13)	82 (16)	38 (9)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Time
Morning (5.00 a.m.–11.00 a.m.)	59 (6)	38 (8)	21 (5)	11.36	0.023
Afternoon (11.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m.)	308 (33)	182 (36)	126 (29)
Evening (5.00 p.m.–11.00 p.m.)	490 (52)	245 (48)	245 (57)
Night (11.00 p.m.–5.00 a.m.)	60 (6)	36 (7)	24 (6)
Unknown	20 (2)	8 (2)	12 (3)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Decor
No	529 (57)	291 (57)	238 (56)	0.172	0.678
Yes	408 (44)	218 (43)	190 (44)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Background characters consuming alcohol
No	576 (62)	327 (64)	249 (58)	3.36	0.067
Yes	361 (39)	182 (36)	179 (42)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)

^aNo consumption or background placement.

^bFor example, port, mixed drinks and cocktails.

^cFor example, boat, crematorium, store and sports club.

Table 7. Results for brand visibility (sponsored movies versus non-sponsored).

	Total	Sponsored	Non-sponsored
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	χ^2	p Value
Total	937 (100)	509 (54)	428 (46)
Visibility
Not visible	815 (87)	445 (87)	370 (86)	0.119	0.730
Visible	122 (13)	64 (13)	58 (14)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Alcohol brand
Amstel	22 (18)	22 (34)	0 (0)	78.21	0.000
Licor43	19 (15)	18 (28)	1 (2)
Moët	19 (15)	0 (0)	19 (32)
Jupiler	13 (11)	0 (0)	13 (22)
Grolsch	9 (7)	0 (0)	9 (15)
Other^a	42 (34)	25 (39)	17 (29)
Total	124 (100)	65 (100)	59 (100)

^aFor example, Joseph Guy, Tia Maria, Jameson, Brand, Vedett, Bacardi and Heineken (not included in χ² analysis).

Table 8. Results for product placement strategies (sponsored movies versus non-sponsored).

	Total	Sponsored	Non- sponsored
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	χ^2	p Value
Total	937 (100)	509 (54)	428 (46)	–	–
Modality
Audio	42 (5)	27 (5)	15 (4)	3.07	0.215
Visual	847 (90)	460 (90)	387 (90)
Audio-visual	48 (5)	22 (4)	26 (6)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Valence
Positive	515 (82)	264 (80)	251 (85)	4.36	0.113
Negative	112 (18)	66 (20)	46 (15)
Not applicable^a	310	179	131
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Plot integration
Yes	222 (24)	125 (25)	97 (23)	7.37	0.025
Somehow	377 (40)	185 (36)	192 (45)
No	338 (36)	199 (39)	139 (33)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Visibility of portrayal
Not visible	46 (5)	30 (6)	16 (4)	3.24	0.198
Visible on background	254 (27)	143 (28)	111 (26)
Visible on foreground	637 (68)	336 (66)	301 (70)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)

^aNo consumption or background placement.

Table 9. Results for law compliance (sponsored movies versus non-sponsored)^a.

	Total	Sponsored	Non-sponsored
	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)
Total	937 (100)	509 (54)	428 (46)
Alcohol consumption by characters younger than 18 years
No	931 (99)	503 (99)	428 (100)
Yes	6 (1)	6 (1)	0 (0)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Alcohol consumption results in better physical performance or driving behaviour
No	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Alcohol consumption induces social or sexual success
No	915 (98)	490 (96)	425 (99)
Somehow	20 (2)	17 (3)	3 (1)
Yes	2 (0)	2 (0)	0 (0)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Alcohol as a therapeutic drug, to calm or to reduce stress
No	900 (96)	483 (95)	417 (97)
Somehow	26 (3)	18 (4)	8 (2)
Yes	11 (1)	8 (2)	3 (1)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Excessive alcohol consumption is encouraged or abstinence is discouraged
No	916 (98)	494 (97)	422 (99)
Somehow	14 (2)	9 (2)	5 (1)
Yes	7 (1)	6 (1)	1 (0)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Emphasis is placed on the level of alcohol
No	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)
Total	937 (100)	509 (100)	428 (100)

^aNo significant differences between sponsored and non-sponsored movies.