The buzz over alcoholic energy drinks
SPRINGFIELD -- At first glance, it looks like a Web site with doodles straight from a teenager's notebook.
The design is reminiscent of "Napoleon Dynamite," with bright colors, lined-paper shapes and even a section about air guitars.
But it's not just another MySpace page. It's an advertising technique being used by Miller Brewing Co. for its alcoholic energy drink Sparks, which contains 6 to 7 percent alcohol, more than most beers.
Now, the product and the marketing behind it are being called into question by Illinois lawmakers.
Lawmakers are advancing proposals that would create stricter labeling requirements for such drinks, which often bear a striking resemblance to their non-alcoholic counterparts increasingly popular among youths.
"The confused consumer doesn't understand there is alcohol in these," said state Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat and one proposal's sponsor. "It's just not that evident on this can that it's alcohol."
These energy drinks are the latest alcoholic beverages to be spotlighted by lawmakers and groups concerned with youth drinking.
A law that takes effect in June will fine companies for advertising fun-flavored alcoholic beverages such as malt lemonade or alcohol-infused tea to children. Specifically, advertising will be banned from billboards within 500 feet of schools, churches and parks.
Legislators want to add the alcoholic energy drinks to that law as well.
But the nation's biggest brewers argue they're behaving responsibly with their products and marketing.
Mark Strawn, Miller Brewing Co.'s legislative consultant, defended products like Miller's Sparks against claims from lawmakers that it's marketed as non-alcoholic and designed to confuse teens.
Strawn said the products must be displayed in the beer and wine sections of stores, not with the rest of the regular energy drinks.
Anheuser-Busch also issued a statement saying its Tilt and Bud Extra alcoholic energy drinks are clearly marked with alcohol content labeling, as required by federal law.
"However, we will work with lawmakers to help ensure that consumers clearly understand these products contain alcohol," said Ashlie Keener, the region director of government affairs.
Still, a scroll across the Web quickly finds sites trying to strike a chord with hip consumers, though they do somewhere post a "drink responsibly" or "brewed to be enjoyed responsibly by adults" disclaimer and require visitors to type in birth dates.
Tilt's site greets visitors with a music club scene -- a background photo of young people partying to techno music blasting from Web surfers' computer speakers.
Located at www.tiltthenight.com, various site features include downloadable instant messenger icons and a text-message shortcuts dictionary.
More techno can be heard at www.budextra.com, where the drink is also called "B to the E."
But in contrast with the others, Bud Extra's percentage of alcohol is nowhere to be found on the site. The drink is referred to as "the beer with caffeine, ginseng, guarana and a crisp refreshing taste."
George Hacker is director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest's alcohol policies project, an organization trying to get not only the marketing but also the beverages themselves banned. Hacker argues the ingredients present health risks in addition to promoting a false sense of alertness by mixing things like caffeine and alcohol.
On the marketing side, Hacker said some brewing companies' Web sites have included youth-targeted slogans such as, "You can sleep when you're 30."
In fact, the marketing practices surrounding the hot new batch of alcoholic energy drinks has caught the attention of state authorities across the nation.
Several state attorneys general recently subpoenaed Miller and Anheuser-Busch, seeking sales and marketing information.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined a task force that wrote a letter to federal authorities expressing marketing concerns.
But even critics like Hacker say there may be little that officials can legally do regarding Web marketing of this or virtually any other product.
"The First Amendment's a pretty big obstacle there, particularly because the Web is essentially unregulated," Hacker said. "People can certainly write the companies and write to the Federal Trade Commission, but I don't think there are too many legal handles on that basis."
Complaints, however, are having an effect.
Last May, Anheuser-Busch stopped making alcoholic energy product Spykes after a flurry of teen-advertising claims. The colorful 2-ounce shot bottles were 12 percent alcohol.
In its defense, the alcohol industry points to drinks like rum and Coke that have been around for generations with no such scrutiny.
Critics, however, of the new era of alcoholic beverages say there's a clear distinction in how they're sold.
"The fact that we are targeting these beverages relates to marketing, packaging and labels," Hacker said. "It's quite different from a rum and Coke and even a Red Bull and vodka."