GAA, rugby and alcohol sponsorship

[johnneycool]

Gael, can you please just answer one question, just one.
Do you think acohol sponsorship of sporting events A) makes people drink or drink more full stop, or B) influences the brand of drink people use without affecting the volumes?
A simple A or B answer will do, although something tells me we wont get it!

Dubnut,
            I think the huge amount of money that companies like Guinness and Heineken spend on advertising on sporting events alone answers your question. They aren't giving charitable donations as far as I'm aware and I'm sure their marketing people are well aware that a few million euro to sponsor the likes of the AI hurling must be worth it in sales or they wouldn't bother.

            Is drink bad for you? It certainly isn't a health drink, but in moderation it's harmful element is greatly reduced.
            Is Mick Loftus right to raise his objections to the GAA drinks advertising? Yes he is and his profession has seen at first hand the horrors of excessive drinking than most and being an ex president should be listened to.
            The sheer presence the GAA has in every city/town/village/parish in Ireland makes it a power tool and maybe the GAA should do even more to educate about drinking and it's harmful effects. I'd like to know what happened the GAA drink awareness campaign which was headed by John Connolly a few years back. I haven't heard a whole lot since.

            Are the media being selective in their condemnation of the GAA for drinks sponsorship, yet turning a blind eye to the rugby, horseracing etc. Yes they are, so whats new?

[dubnut]

"I think the huge amount of money that companies like Guinness and Heineken spend on advertising on sporting events alone answers your question. They aren't giving charitable donations as far as I'm aware and I'm sure their marketing people are well aware that a few million euro to sponsor the likes of the AI hurling must be worth it in sales or they wouldn't bother"

Johnnycool, thats not the point.
Guinness / Heineken advertising could well increased their sales, and obviously does. This is not in question.
My point was, is the increase in sales based on people ALREADY DRINKING switching brands. Or does it make people who previously wouldnt drink take up the habit.
I would suggest it influences the brand selected but NOT whether or not people will drink or not.

[lynchbhoy]

"I think the huge amount of money that companies like Guinness and Heineken spend on advertising on sporting events alone answers your question. They aren't giving charitable donations as far as I'm aware and I'm sure their marketing people are well aware that a few million euro to sponsor the likes of the AI hurling must be worth it in sales or they wouldn't bother"

Johnnycool, thats not the point.
Guinness / Heineken advertising could well increased their sales, and obviously does. This is not in question.
My point was, is the increase in sales based on people ALREADY DRINKING switching brands. Or does it make people who previously wouldnt drink take up the habit.
I would suggest it influences the brand selected but NOT whether or not people will drink or not.

I'd say theres a strong proability that it would for kids

esp as they will drink anything they can get , at that age..
because its adult to do so and if you dont drink you are thought of as a bit of a weirdo

[dubnut]

"I'd say theres a strong proability that it would for kids

esp as they will drink anything they can get , at that age..
because its adult to do so and if you dont drink you are thought of as a bit of a weirdo"

Thats true Lynchboy, but what I am saying is that this is the society we live in.
They will drink anything they can get whether there is sports sponsorhip or not.
If they were going to drink anyway it may encourage them to drink guinness instead of Dutch Gold or the likes but that doesnt make it worse, it doesnt make it better either but certainly doesnt compound the problem.

The whole problem runs much deeper than the GAA sponsorship issue, its a culture thing.
I think blaming the GAA and Rugby for compounding the drink culture is trying to avoid the real issues as to why we have this culture.
Certainly in Ireland I wouldnt say GAA (guinness) and Rugby (heineken) supporting kids drink more than those who follow soccer (eircom).
To summarise I am convinced that people do not drink more because of sports sponsorship.
But I could be wrong!

[lynchbhoy]

"I'd say theres a strong proability that it would for kids

esp as they will drink anything they can get , at that age..
because its adult to do so and if you dont drink you are thought of as a bit of a weirdo"

Thats true Lynchboy, but what I am saying is that this is the society we live in.
They will drink anything they can get whether there is sports sponsorhip or not.
If they were going to drink anyway it may encourage them to drink guinness instead of Dutch Gold or the likes but that doesnt make it worse, it doesnt make it better either but certainly doesnt compound the problem.

The whole problem runs much deeper than the GAA sponsorship issue, its a culture thing.
I think blaming the GAA and Rugby for compounding the drink culture is trying to avoid the real issues as to why we have this culture.
Certainly in Ireland I wouldnt say GAA (guinness) and Rugby (heineken) supporting kids drink more than those who follow soccer (eircom).
To summarise I am convinced that people do not drink more because of sports sponsorship.
But I could be wrong!

I would agree with that last statement
but
not so for kids.

The only thing we can do is come out and say that prospective young GAA  (and indeed all sports) players should stay away from drink.
A campaign to make it uncool or just to make it unacceptable to youth that drinking should not happen until you are well into your 20's and consuming large amounts , along with smoking, swearing, fighting, unmannerly behaviour is neither smart nor clever

We have had a big success at our club this year- in the team I am associated with.
However there are a couple who I can see already are borderline ready to fall by the wayside.
Our season is now over and we are keeping the training going for fear of losing these lads to bad habit/bad influences/booze.

I agree, society is to blame, and some here have suggested what can be done - booze advertising is great for cash, but eroding society and families. The Celtic tiger has made Ireland an unfriendly selfish place. Those who fall now, fall further.

It never bothered me prev - as I was happy the GAA got any cash injections, but thinking about it we should ban drinks advertising. Not for influencing adults, but for the kids we are trying to bring up in the GAA way.
Rugby was a national joke until they stopped their boozing and took it seriously.
We have to also move with the times, and plenty of GAA figureheads are setting such examples out there - McGeeney for one.The O'Hailpins also.
For the sake of the children, and not making liars out of ourselves

[dubnut]

"For the sake of the children"

Now you are just shaming me into agreeing! 

[johnneycool]

"I think the huge amount of money that companies like Guinness and Heineken spend on advertising on sporting events alone answers your question. They aren't giving charitable donations as far as I'm aware and I'm sure their marketing people are well aware that a few million euro to sponsor the likes of the AI hurling must be worth it in sales or they wouldn't bother"

Johnnycool, thats not the point.
Guinness / Heineken advertising could well increased their sales, and obviously does. This is not in question.
My point was, is the increase in sales based on people ALREADY DRINKING switching brands. Or does it make people who previously wouldnt drink take up the habit.
I would suggest it influences the brand selected but NOT whether or not people will drink or not.

I'd say theres a strong proability that it would for kids

esp as they will drink anything they can get , at that age..
because its adult to do so and if you dont drink you are thought of as a bit of a weirdo

There is no doubt that in regards to brand awareness, then yes I believe children are more aware of Guinness due to the sponsorship with the hurling. Are they more likely to take up drinking because of it, then no I don't think they are, not right away anyway, however the subliminal link between Guinness and 'Irishness' is well embedded for later on. If as someone had pointed out we had the WKD AI minor championship there would be uproar as it would blatent targeting of a younger market and using the GAA as the tools. That most certainly would be wrong on all levels. If Guinness were to advertise on TV during kiddies programs would there be concerns?

The hard facts are that alcohol and it's inherent problems is with us and the GAA not taking Guinness' money isn't going to change that but I would like to see more education of alcohol and it's problems rolled out by the GAA via the clubs and especially the star players used in this role.
I do believe that the IRFU and other sports organisations like the Harp lager Belfast giants don't seem to be having these debates or problems (in the public domain anyway) and the fact that the likes of Mick Loftus can raise a debate on this speaks volumes for the GAA having a moral conscience

[Lecale2]

The alcohol problem isn't confined to GAA by any means but it's still a problem. Most teams go for a few pints after a match/training and go on a bender when they win the championship. It has always been part of the GAA tradition. I read a while ago about a Tipparery delegate proposing to congress that all GAA cups should have holes bored in them to prevent them being filled with alcoholic drinks. That's a bit drastic but I do think GAA players & coaches can play a part in educating young people about the effects of alcohol. I've heard about an alcohol awareness programme delivered by a former county hurler who has a problem with alcohol. Apparently its very effective.

[johnneycool]

I've heard about an alcohol awareness programme delivered by a former county hurler who has a problem with alcohol. Apparently its very effective.

That must be Johnny Leahy you're talking about and from what I hear he does a lot of good work in this area. More power to him

[Lecale2]

Yes, that's right.

[Declan]

In fact, I will be giving a team of u17's a lecture tonight at training on not boozing if they want to become decent future footballers.
Practically all of them were drinking last sun night celebrating a league title. I was asked to join them (and several adults) but declined.

Therein lies the problem .Its seen as OK for a group of U17s to "celebrate" by drinking and why because they see everyone else doing it. Have people forgotten that it's illegal for these kids to be drinking- hope it wasn't in the clubhouse!!. People can preach all they want about the evils of drink etc but as a society we have a complete blind spot when it comes to alcohol so I can't see why we're surprised on how many kids are affected. On sponsorship I'm in the camp that says all alcohol advertising should be banned and not just from sporting events. Alcohol related illnesses are a major killer in this country so I can't see why we should promote its use.
Fair play to you Lynchboy for not attending by the way.

PS - I say this as someone who enjoys a pint but no one can tell me that the advertisement and branding hasn't had an effect. If it didn't work and the drinks companies didn't sell more alcohol they wouldn't continue to spend the money on it

[Fear Boirche]

A lot of people take out mortgages, credit cards and loans and some people get themselves in horrendous situations with debt and so on. So by the logic of this thread, Bank of Ireland should not be allowed to sponsor the football championship because that's just encouraging people to get into financial difficulties.

Also, Coca-cola shouldn't sponsor the International Rules and the Tyrone county championship because kids are drinking too many
sugary drinks.


It's one thing asking the GAA to be imaginative about sponsorship, but if somebody hands them a whopping great cheque to have their name associated with a particular competition, then it's very hard to resist. I don't think the fact that Guinness sponsor the hurling means that more people are going to drink the black stuff.

[Billys Boots]

Anyone for the Shell Mayo Championship?