There are two competing voices when it comes to the topic of partying in Illinois.

The first voice belongs to the liquor companies. Usually through television advertisements, liquor companies want you to know that drinking is synonymous with good times and sexy people.

The second voice is government–funded campaigns against drunk driving. The most recent campaigns warn that getting caught while driving drunk will assuredly ruin your future. It’s extremely important to note that drunk driving is not the focus of this article. Driving under the influence is dangerous and irresponsible. The main issue at hand is how these aforementioned groups affect the lives of citizens.

As previously mentioned, there have been a string of DUI advertisement campaigns claiming that receiving a DUI will make you a permanent loser. These ads were created by the advertising company Lou Beres & Associates in Chicago and they were funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Division of Traffic Safety. In the advertisements, the apparent DUI recipient has the word “loser” seared into their flesh. The “loser” engraving is obviously meant to symbolize the shame and permanence of their careless action. Enacted on January 1, a DUI conviction results in a mandatory breathalyzer installation in the offender’s car.

While these advertisements do effectively employ scare tactics, they are totally unrealistic and somewhat offensive. Human beings make mistakes. A link to a Fox News Special report on the Lou Beres & Associates Web site said “Of the 50,000 DUI arrests in Illinois every year, 30,000 of those are first time offenders.” These ads reject the idea that human beings are imperfect creatures and the ads encourage outrageous punishments for [non-fatal] first-time offenses.

“These first-time DUI offenders are going to be living with a stupid mistake they made for a long time” said Corporal Ronald Shor of the Riverwoods Police Department. “Most people have the sense not to make the same mistake twice, but these ads are making people look sub-human.”

The other player that influences alcohol consumption is obviously the alcohol companies. While the government scorns the public for their booze fueled follies, the alcohol companies feed off of it. Their marketing campaigns depict sexy young adults mingling while enjoying a wide array of different types of alcohol.

Some recent ads were from Smirnoff’s “Be There” campaign. One commercial scene starts off at night as a group of twenty-somethings meet behind what looks to be a mansion. Equipped with their Smirnoff Ice, the group heads toward a nearby hill. They immediately begin stripping down to their underwear (strangely enough they haven’t even touched the Smirnoff). The sprinkler system goes off and they immediately whip out a giant plastic tarp to use as a make-shift slip and slide. It seems as though the mere presence of the Smirnoff has driven the young adults into a frenzy of trendy fun (the other commercials don’t stray very far from this idea). It is wonderful that alcohol always leads to a situation like this.

Oh wait, it doesn’t. Ever. Like the “loser” campaign, these advertisements are guilty of a similar tactic of exaggeration in order to get the customer’s attention. Similar to cigarette ads, alcohol advertisements are dedicated to making drinking seem cool. From a college student’s point of view, they are largely successful. Classes are almost seen as obstacles in the way of weekend binge drinking. Drinking has also seeped into many different kinds of media. According to the article “Alcohol Advertisements Attract The Young” on ScienceDaily.com, “hours spent watching films, playing games and watching music videos...correlated with young peoples’ tendency to consume alcoholic beverages”.

This is where the problem of conflicting messages comes into play. If you are not drinking enough, you are a loser. If you are drinking too much, you are a loser. Excessively poisoning our bodies has become a social norm.

Our government wants to severely punish us for this constantly reinforced social norm. Obviously we are the losers.

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