TV campaign not the answer to alcohol problem

The government's simplistic approach to teenage binge drinking will not assist to solve the problem.

For a start, the Prime Minister admits he doesn't have much data to back claims there is a problem (which there is, if the number of media reports are any guide. And just talking to my teenage children is enough to alarm me).

But what does the government propose? A TV campaign. In this modern day and age of communications, this is hardly inspiring, as any first-year PR student could tell you.

Teenagers do not use television as their medium. All an advertising campaign will do is boost the agency's and TV stations' profits.

What's needed is a well-crafted IMC campaign. However, this will have to be an extremely long-haul program which goes beyond the standard education program. It should even extend beyond the target audience.

As nation, we have to overcome a decades-old alcohol-abuse culture. This will require a massive shift in thinking across several generations.

This post can also be found at http://www.prlab.com.au