CASE STUDY - GOT SCOTCH?

The distilled spirits industry has had a self imposed ban on radio and television advertising prior to 1996. The result has been that liquor sales have dropped dramatically. Currently adult drinkers drink 1.8 gallons of liquor per year, a forty percent drop from the three gallons per person in 1980.

The industry is considering a media blitz of forty million dollars (a three-fold increase) in night time cable television advertising. While the industry is trying to save their sinking ship, they may forge ahead with ads on programs with underage audiences like MTV.

1. Is saving the numerous jobs in the industry worth risking a possible increase in teen drinking when research shows that teenage drinking appears to be on the increase?