I remember fighting cravings and feeling like I was going a little crazy: is my TV part of some sort of conspiracy to remind me to drink, or does every single show or advertisement come with a pro-alcohol message? Of course, really I was just noticing the subtle ones more and more as the desire for a drink had its grip on my poor little brain — but it really is stunning how constant and ubiquitous the positive messaging about alcohol is. When your subconscious is obsessed with reasons you should drink, they are everywhere you turn.
So, I found it helpful to look right at these messages, count them, make fun of them, even get a little angry at how dumb they are. (See also the Bingo Card.) Because as is true for every product, advertisements for alcohol often make completely absurd claims — yet remain effective, as they seep into our subconscious if we don’t actively fight them off. We know drinking soda doesn’t magically make us happy, but if we see enough ads with happy people drinking it and don’t do anything to counteract them, we will drink more soda.
So, why not try actively noticing the ads and what they are trying to tell you, and then keeping a list — or better yet, contributing to this one. Here are a few to get you started, there are honestly so many good ones out there I would love to read some more of these:
Running Tally — Most ridiculous implications by an alcohol ad:
- Drinking hard liquor with your father will make him love you
- Drinking lite beer will get you into a threesome
- Coolers make people nicer human beings
- Drinking in the morning on a game day is totally normal
- You can really tell if a person is a good human being based on what hard liquor they prefer to purchase in large quantities.
- Etc…
Keep your eye out. What is your phone/TV/device really saying to you?
Marginalia