Alcohol Advertising on Twitter—A Topic Model

ABSTRACT

Background: Exposure to alcohol-related advertising is consistently linked to adolescent drinking initiation and alcohol-related consequences. Since the advent of social networking sites, the alcohol industry has adapted its advertising efforts and allocated large portions of advertising budgets and efforts on digital and online media. Purpose: This investigation employed a novel, objective content analysis to examine the advertising practices of leading alcohol brands on Twitter. Methods: Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was utilized to examine the entire Twitter post history for 13 alcohol brands. Results: Very distinct, clear themes emerged for each brand. Each brand had a unique approach to marketing that was representative of the brand itself. Insufficient alcohol brand messaging on Twitter focused on moderation (ie, drink responsibly). Discussion: Our analysis of tweets from 2010 to 2017 by 13 distinct alcohol brands echoes previous documenting utilization of content appealing to youth and violation of the alcohol industry’s self-developed marketing code. Translation to Health Education Practice: Public health practitioners and policymakers should utilize these findings and those of previous peer-reviewed studies to advocate for clear externally monitored advertising regulations and guidelines protecting adolescents from alcohol advertising exposure.