Pushing booze to kids: Instagram study finds celebrity posts skirting bans
Bruno Mars is one of many celebrities with his own alcohol brand
A four-year study by La Trobe University has found that actors, athletes, and musicians with their own alcohol brands are routinely promoting these products on Instagram posts that are visible to their underage followers. These posts are rarely disclosed as advertising.
The research by La Trobe University’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, published in US peer-reviewed medical journal Pediatrics, analysed 85,673 Instagram posts — published between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023 — by 112 celebrities who own alcohol brands.
It found that 75% of these owners mentioned their own alcohol brand in at least one post during that period, and nearly 38% “explicitly referenced” their brand in their biography. A total of 133 alcohol brands were promoted across 660 posts, with wine (22%), whiskey (19%) and tequila (16%) the top three types of alcohol being shilled.
