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AN ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIAN BEER ADVERTISEMENTS Simone Pettigrew Edith Cowan University Abstract This paper examines Australian beer television advertising to gain insight into the cultural relevance of beer as a consumption product within Australian culture. Initially, an international study of beer advertising is profiled, followed by an analysis of some of the beer advertisements that have been screened on Australian television over the last thirty years. These two analyses are then compared to identify the similarities and differences in content and presentation between Australian and international beer advertisements. While the study found that there are strong similarities between Australian beer advertisements and those aired in other Western nations, there are distinct differences in the way Australians portray the act of beer consumption. Introduction The ways in which beer is promoted provide indicators of its cultural meanings. Caillat and Mueller (1996) note that alcohol advertisements communicate attitudes to drinking within a culture, particularly attitudes concerning appropriate times and places for alcohol consumption. This paper examines Australian beer advertising to gain insight into the cultural relevance of beer as a consumption product within Australian culture. Initially, an international study of beer advertising is profiled, followed by an analysis of some of the beer advertisements that have been screened on Australian television over the last thirty years. These two analyses are then compared to identify the similarities and differences in content and presentation between Australian and international beer advertisements. International Beer Advertisement Studies Domzal and Kernan (1992) conducted an international study of advertisements for products across four product categories to identify the relevant meaning exemplars contained within them. Meaning exemplars are the common elements of meaning found across the majority of advertisements for each product type. They represent the signs (the dominant elements of the advertisement, consisting of signifiers and signifieds) and structure (the ways in which these meanings relate to one another within the advertisement) of typical advertisements in the particular product area (Domzal and Kernan 1992). While only non-Australian beer advertisements were included in the sample, the results of the study provide a comparison point for the following analysis of Australian beer advertisements. The four exemplars found by Domzal and Kernan to apply to beer advertising were nutrition, dynamism, activity, and status. Briefly, nutrition refers to ingredients and brewing style, dynamism is the physical characteristics of the beer (e.g., foamy), activity relates to the social environment in which beer is consumed, and status refers to the use of premium brands to segment the beer market. They concluded that consumers world-wide have established a deep-seated understanding of the product category of beer. They suggest that the comprehension of beer as a product category is socially acquired via direct or observed consumption, while knowledge of particular brands is derived almost entirely from the efforts of advertisers. Domzal and Kernan (1992) found that the 61 beer advertisements from the seven countries sampled largely followed a prescribed sequence of events. They usually attempted to associate the brand with one of either two notable features, quality or uniqueness. The beer container itself, whether a bottle, can or glass, was usually the predominant visual feature of the advertisement. The personality of the brand was inferred by those pictured drinking it, rather than explicitly stated. Other common themes included beer as a reward, and beer drinking as a sociable pastime. The way in which the beer is brewed was often mentioned in the advertisements, with the manufacturing process described as a traditional art form, “never as a science which can be copied or improved” (Domzal and Kernan 1992, p. 53). Advertisements usually depicted group consumption scenes, often involving considerable noise and movement. This feature was also noted by Caillat and Mueller (1996) and Parker (1998) in their studies of American and British beer advertisements. Overall, Domzal and Kernan (1992) found that although advertisements for beer are many and varied across a range of countries, the themes employed are usually within the parameters of the commonly accepted meanings of beer. In other words, advertisers rarely attempt to attach completely new meanings to the product, preferring the relative safety of tried and tested meanings. Similar results were found by Parker (1998) and Caillat and Mueller (1996) in their smaller-scale studies. This finding sits in opposition to McCracken’s (1990, p.7) assertion that “Advertising is so powerful that virtually any product can be made to ‘take’ virtually any meaning”. Domzal and Kernan suggest that the tendency among beer advertisers to confine the symbolism employed to accepted cultural meanings is representative of the difficulties associated with assigning new meanings to existing products. They therefore recommend that marketers accurately represent the core cultural meanings associated with the product category, prior to establishing the individual personality of the particular brand. Australian Beer Advertisements Alcohol plays a major role in Australian stereotypes, with beer being particularly associated with the Australian lifestyle (Fiske, Hodge, and Turner 1987). The perceived connection between Australians and beer is not misplaced, as Australians are the ninth largest per capita consumers of beer in the world (Productschap Voor Gedistilleerde Dranken 1997). In Australia, beer consumption has been suggested to communicate the social categories of gender (Conway 1985; Horne 1988), age (Fiske et al. 1987), and social class (Horne 1988). The association with masculinity has been particularly noted (King 1978), although this association is also common in other Western societies (Gough and Edwards 1998). Beer has long had particular relevance for the working man in societies with British origins (Barr 1995), and this is especially the case in Australia where the population was originally based on the lower classes of British nations (Mackay 1989; Morse and Marks 1985). In order to compare the themes identified in Domzal and Kernan’s study with the content of Australian beer advertisements, the video archives of Carlton United Brewery (CUB) and Lion Nathan were accessed to obtain a range of Australian beer advertisements that span more than thirty years. The oldest advertisement was a black and white ad that was not datemarked, although the brewery management estimated that it was produced in the 1960s. Unfortunately, many of the other archived advertisements were also not date-marked. However, the majority of the advertisements examined were produced and aired within the last five to ten years. In total, 72 advertisements were examined to identify common themes in both visual and audio content. As the advertisements were viewed, the major and minor themes present were recorded. Once all the advertisements had been viewed, the various themes were documented and analysed for frequency and extent of representation. The dominant themes were found to be extremes in temperature, hard work, the physical characteristics of the product or its packaging, mateship/socialising, sport, and pubs. Each of these themes is discussed below. Many Australian beer advertisements draw a distinct contrast between hot and cold temperatures. The environment and the drinker are usually depicted as very hot, compared to the icy cold beer. This often includes outback scenes, where the heat rising from the ground provides the backdrop for the sweaty farmer/bushman who is in dire need of a cold beverage (e.g., a Fosters Light advertisement that depicts a farmer who cannot call his sheepdog as he has lost his whistle in the dry, dusty conditions). Another variation is the dripping factory worker, miner, or tradesman who has obviously been working in a very hot environment. Tooheys Draft and Victoria Bitter (VB) advertisements have long used these types of images. Beer is depicted as the perfect solution to the physical effort of strenuous work, as well as to the arid conditions of the Australian continent. These scenes of hard work in beer advertisements extend to include sport. The cricketer (e.g., Swan Gold and Tooheys Draught advertisements), footballer (e.g., Carlton Draught, Emu Export, VB, and Tooheys Draught advertisements), fisherman (e.g., VB and Tooheys Red advertisements), skier (e.g., Fosters Light Ice advertisements), parachutist (e.g., Fosters Light Ice advertisements), kayaker (e.g., Fosters Light Ice advertisements), and boxer (e.g., Diamond Draft advertisements) have each been portrayed in different Australian beer advertisements. They all appear to require the cooling refreshment that only beer can provide. The inclusion of a sport theme in advertisements serves to simultaneously communicate the social function of beer, as well as the reward for hard work theme. Most of these sports involve extensive interaction with others, or they are at least depicted as such in the advertisements in which they are profiled. Other mateship scenes are also very common, such as males socialising in pubs, at parties, and in front of television sets (although they are usually viewing sport at the time). The pub is a popular theme in Australian beer advertisements, although more so among the brands targeted at older drinkers. There is a friendly ambience to the pub as depicted in the advertisements. Everyone is smiling, and there is a throb of happy voices in the background (e.g., Carlton Draught, Tooheys Blue, Tooheys Draught, and Emu Export advertisements). Recently launched brands tend to focus more on non-pub drinking, particularly at parties (e.g., Hahn Ice and Carlton Cold advertisements). This reflects the tendency for younger drinkers to consume beer in a greater range of locations than older drinkers (Health Department of Western Australia 1997). Where pubs are depicted, they are often dimly lit, with a predominantly male clientele. The barmaid is usually the only female present, and she is never drinking beer herself (e.g., the Tooheys Blue advertisement that features a busty blonde barmaid who is dressed in a low-cut top and is called “love” by the patrons). Where any other females are present (usually only in advertisements depicting parties rather than pub scenes), they may be holding a glass or bottle of beer, but they do not actually drink from it (e.g., the Matilda Bay advertisement that shows middle class men and women spending a sunny afternoon drinking by the side of a river). Close-up images of the glass or bottle are another common theme (e.g., Crown Lager, Emu Draft, and Swan Gold advertisements). In the older advertisements, the focus is often on the head of the beer flowing down the side of the over-filled glass. In more recent advertisements, the bottle takes priority. Labels are strategically held so that the brand name is evident while the drinker raises the bottle to his mouth. Seen in profile, the drinker tilts back his head and appears to take in large quantities of the beverage (e.g., Fosters Light Ice advertisements). Some recent advertisements do not feature any people, instead focusing entirely on the product and its packaging. This approach is less frequent than the traditional portrayal of mates congregated to drink beer, and it tends to be confined to shorter advertising campaigns that are aimed at younger or more affluent target markets (e.g., the Carlton Cold advertisements that show beer flowing through icy pipes). Humour is a favoured appeal used in beer advertisements, particularly those aimed at younger drinkers. The main characters in the advertisements are often laughing at others, or occasionally at themselves (e.g., the Tooheys Red advertisements that depict German tourists experiencing problems ordering a round of beers because of language difficulties). They occasionally undertake extraordinary sporting feats, which are amusing in their extremeness (e.g., the Fosters Light Ice advertisements). In the majority of advertisements examined, the only people present were Anglo-Saxon males who appeared to be either working or middle class. Over time, the males depicted in beer advertisements have become better dressed, with the historical focus on the working class drinker changing to also favour the suited middle class male. However, some brands continue to depict only working class males, as their product is specifically targeted to this market (e.g., Emu Draft). Some advertisements combine numerous themes in a single commercial. For example, a Fosters Light Ice advertisement shows two men skiing together, taking on dizzy heights in their skiing adventure. One of the two men comes crashing down through the roof of a pub and lands standing at the bar. He asks for a Fosters Light Ice, from which the viewer sees him drink thirstily in profile, with the label clearly apparent. He then asks the barman to get another, and looks to the ceiling anticipating the arrival of his mate. This advertisement includes the themes of mateship, sport, the pub, Anglo-Saxon males, humour, profiling the bottle, and extreme exertion coupled with icy beer in an icy environment. Another example of a multi-theme advertisement is a Tooheys Draught advertisement that depicts a group of Anglo-Saxon males in a pub watching a football game on the television suspended above the bar. One of the drinkers envisages himself actually playing in the game and kicking the winning goal. The advertisement therefore combines sport spectating, sport participation, a pub scene, mates, and physical exertion. As per Domzal and Kernan’s findings, Australian beer marketers appear to have experienced the need to restrict advertising content to accepted cultural meanings, resulting in very consistent beer advertising themes over recent decades. Radical advertising campaigns have historically failed, forcing brewers to revert to campaigns that are only slightly different from their traditional approaches to the market (Burbury 1998; Mackay 1989). The themes identified in Australian beer advertisements parallel several characteristics of mainstream Australian culture. The pub and sport themes of the advertisements cross easily into real Australian lifestyles (Fiske et al. 1987; King 1978). The focus on Anglo-Saxon Australians is also typical of the way in which Aboriginals and migrants have been neglected in depictions of Australian culture (Graetz and McAllister 1988; White 1979). The representation of drinkers as males reflects the dominance of the male stereotype and the almost non-existent female stereotype (Conway 1985). Also, the heavy use of leisure scenes is parallel to the Australian emphasis on leisure time over work time (Horne 1988; Mackay 1993). Conclusions Of Domzal and Kernan’s (1992) four meaning exemplars (nutrition, dynamism, activity, and status), activity and status are especially pertinent to Australian beer advertisements. Activity relates to social interaction with friends, while status refers to the association with a particular type of drinker. Nutrition (including quality of ingredients) and dynamism (the effervescent nature of beer) are also relevant, although they are less frequently represented. The other main similarities between Australian and international advertisements include reference to the brewing process, beer being positioned as a reward for effort, the communication of brand personality through the selection of appropriate drinkers, and the specific targeting of different social classes via different scenes and actors. The frequent focus in Australian advertisements on beer packaging (mainly bottles) is also consistent with Domzal and Kernan’s findings, although the social aspects of beer consumption are dominant in Australian advertisements while the container was found to be the primary feature of the international advertisements. The primacy of the social environment in Australian beer advertisements is not surprising given the social role of beer consumption in Australian culture. The emphasis on mateship and solidarity (Feather 1986; Morse and Marks 1985) promotes a drinking culture in which communal beer consumption among males is a primary element in the rite of passage into manhood (Bedwell 1992). Once initiated, continued group consumption is required to maintain the status of being a “man” (Horne 1988; King 1978). These cultural requirements are translated into the male-dominated group images that form the basis of so many Australian beer advertisements. Compared to the international advertisements, the Australian advertisements exhibit a high incidence of sport themes and humour appeals. These elements were not specifically noted as salient in the Domzal and Kernan study, but are very characteristic of the Australian advertisements. While activity as a category was frequently apparent in the international ads, the particular emphasis on sporting activities is especially pronounced in the Australian advertisements. Humour has also been identified as a common theme in British beer advertisements by Caillat and Mueller (1996). This similarity between Australian and British advertising themes is not surprising given Australia’s settlement history. The cultural similarities deriving from a common heritage appear to have translated into a preference for similar advertising themes. To conclude, Australian beer advertisements share similarities with those of other countries. There are, however, some distinct differences that can be attributed to the nature of Australian culture. In order for advertisements to be effective, Domzal and Kernan emphasise the importance of using culturally appropriate messages and themes. Australian brewers have recognised this, and have largely constrained their advertising messages to those that employ cultural meanings that are widely accepted as relating to beer consumption. As a result, Australian beer advertisements exhibit a heavy focus on social consumption, beer as a reward for hard work, humour appeals, sporting images, and all-male drinking scenes. Future research could compare these themes to those found in other Australian advertisements to provide a more detailed picture of Australian culture as communicated through advertising. Also, analyses of advertisements that cross product boundaries could further investigate the gap between McCracken’s (1990) belief in the power of advertising to create new cultural meanings and Domzal and Kernan’s finding that advertisers typically comply with accepted meanings in their attempts to create effective advertisements. References Barr, Andrew (1995), Drink, London, Bantam Press. Bedwell, Steve (1992), Suburban Icons, Sydney, ABC Enterprises. Burbury, Rochelle (1998), "Lion Roars Ahead to Keep Pace With Beer’s Evolution," The Australian, 22 January. 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