Inside the Celebrity Alcohol Boom: Industry Trends, Ethics, and Public Health Risks
From Hollywood actors to athletes, it seems difficult to find a celebrity, especially in the West, without involvement in the alcohol industry today. Whether through ownership, stakeholding, one-off promotional deals, or simply general advertisement, many of these celebrities allow the promotion of alcohol to dominate their online presence. In front of their fans, including minors, celebrities consistently share advertisements for their alcoholic products.
From advertisements disguised into comedic acts to lawsuits, publicity has boosted the reach of alcoholic brands.
Alcohol Industry Trends and Context
The surge in celebrity-owned alcohol brands isn’t happening by chance. Several factors explain why stars are increasingly drawn to the alcohol industry. I have identified four:
- High profit margins: The alcohol industry is one of the most profitable consumer goods sectors. Premium and craft liquor, in particular, have a massive markup, making them an attractive business opportunity for celebrities who want to accumulate ever more money.
- Brand loyalty and fan influence: Celebrities already have built-in audiences who trust them. Attaching their name to a brand makes it instantly recognizable and gives them a competitive edge over non-celebrity-owned alcohol brands.
- Low regulatory scrutiny compared to other industries: The alcohol industry, unlike pharmaceuticals or tobacco, does not face the same level of government oversight and application of international standards to its operations, including celebrity endorsements. Unlike prescription drugs, which require extensive regulatory approval, alcohol can be promoted freely in many markets – especially in the countries where the biggest celebrities have massive following.
- Expansion of personal branding: With the decline of traditional film and TV revenue streams due to streaming services and shifting media consumption habits, celebrities are turning to business ventures as income source to make ever more money. Alcohol, like fashion or skincare, allows them to capitalize on their personal brand beyond entertainment.
This has led to a flood of celebrity-owned alcohol brands, transforming the alcohol industry. While actors and musicians traditionally endorsed products through one-off campaigns, many now take full ownership, ensuring long-term revenue and control over brand positioning.
Case Studies: Celebrities and Their Alcohol Brands
I have documented and analyzed celebrities and their alcohol brand promotions. It is shocking to me how many there are, despite the reality that so many athletes, actors, musicians, and other celebrities have faced dire consequences of alcohol use disorder and addiction.
Ryan Reynolds’ comedic touch
Ryan Reynolds acquired a stake in Aviation American Gin in February 2018. Beyond just holding the ownership role, he relayed an intent to oversee the product’s creative direction and take an active part in the business. Despite Diageo – one of the largest alcohol companies in the world – taking over the brand in 2020, Mr Reynolds still holds ownership interest. Since the original purchase, he has held one of the most prominent alcohol promotion positions from a celebrity.
Mr Reynolds uses multiple avenues to promote his alcoholic brand. First, his YouTube account, where the actor has over four million subscribers, has more than 10 videos referencing the product, with those posts garnering well over 10 million views combined. In the videos, Mr Reynolds often narrates in a comedic style reminiscent of the movies he stars in.
Speaking of box office movies, Mr Reynolds promoted his alcoholic brand in two of his most famous films: Red Notice, the fifth-most streamed movie of 2021, and Deadpool 2, which grossed $785.8 million worldwide.
Mr Reynolds deploys his social media to push the brand and boost his own profits while also filling the coffers of Big Alcohol. His social media reach expands to his over 21 million “X,” formerly Twitter followers, nearly 50 million Instagram followers and his 21 million Facebook followers.
Jennifer Lopez’s Contradiction
Next up is a newcomer to the alcohol industry, Jennifer Lopez. Seemingly ignoring that her former husband, actor Ben Affleck, has struggled with alcohol use disorder and addiction since he was 15 and lives in recovery now, and Lopez herself previously saying she lived alcohol-free, the star’s social media is filled with promotions of her spritz brand, Delola.
With 253 million followers on Instagram, Lopez owns the 17th most-followed account on the platform. Instagram is where she announced the brand’s launch in April of 2023. Since introducing the alcoholic product, Ms Lopez has dedicated over 20% of her posts to Delola.
The constant pushing of the brand to her fans also takes place on “X,” where Lopez garners nearly 45 million followers and Facebook, where she has 62 million followers. Just like Reynolds, Lopez also uses YouTube as a marketing tool. Besides the promotion of her movies, there are three videos dedicated to promoting her alcohlic brand to her over 16 million subscribers.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s immense reach
Dwayne Johnson founded Teremana Tequila in March 2020. Mr Johnson takes a unique marketing approach by letting media outlets do the advertising for him.
He highlights glowing reviews from Forbes, Men’s Journal, and the Food Network to validate the alcoholic brand’s credibility while subtly influencing his 388 million Instagram followers, 64 million Facebook followers, and 17 million Twitter followers.
For example, he shared a pair of posts to his 388 million Instagram followers, thanking Forbes and Men’s Journal for bringing attention to his booze brand. The former acknowledged the brand as the fastest-growing tequila product of all time, while the latter reviewed it in a good light.
As one of the celebrities with the most global notoriety, it is unsurprising that Mr Johnson has a large following on other platforms, where he also promotes the alcoholic brand. Those include his 17 million “X” followers and 64 million Facebook followers. Johnson also has videos referencing the brand on his YouTube page, with over six million subscribers.
Dan Aykroyd’s longevity
The next celebrity’s success in the alcohol industry slightly varies from Lopez and Johnson, as they define longevity in the alcohol industry. Despite not holding the same popularity as the three celebrities above, Dan Aykroyd’s dedication to promoting his brand, Crystal Head Vodka, for over a decade, makes him stand out.
Aykroyd founded the alcohlic drink in 2007. Sixteen years later, his social media is entirely taken over by advertisements. On Instagram, to 100,000 followers, Aykroyd has only posted ten times. Nine of those posts reference Crystal Head Vodka. On “X,” with over 350 thousand followers, and on Facebook, with over one million followers, most of Aykroyd’s activity involves promoting the booze brand.
The product’s unique packaging in a Crystal Skull bottle has undoubtedly gained the brand notoriety. But it sends a questionable message in light of rising alcohol deaths in the U.S.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal battle
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ DeLeón Tequila gained attention not just through social media promotion but also through legal disputes.
Mr Combs helped develop the Ciroc vodka brand in 2007 for a 50 percent profit share, where he partnered with Diageo. In 2017, Diageo purchased George Clooney’s Casamigos brand. Following that purchase, Mr Combs sued Diageo for racial discrimination in June of 2023, claiming the company failed to market DeLeón on par with its other brands, such as Casamigos.
While the lawsuit highlighted disparities in the industry, it also generated increased publicity for DeLeón.
Emma Watson undermines her own cause
Emma Watson, often regarded as a champion of the feminist movement, launched a gin brand in 2023 – despite the negative impact of alcohol on women, such as violence, breast cancer, and mental health problems. Ms Watson continues to promote Renais Gin and recently partnered with British distributor Proof Drinks.
The booze brand will also arrive to the United States in spring 2024 after a partnership with Republic National Distributing Company.
Marketing Tactics and Ethical Concerns
While celebrities frame their alcohol ventures as just another business endeavor, the methods used to market alcohol brands raise ethical concerns:
- Subtle and disguised advertising: Many celebrities integrate their alcohol promotions seamlessly into their personal social media content. Whether posting a casual ‘cheers’ photo, featuring their alcoholic drink in an Instagram story, or showing it in a movie scene, this marketing blends into everyday content, making it harder for people (especially minors) to recognize it as alcohol advertising.
- Targeting young audiences: Social media allows alcohol brands to reach younger demographics more easily than traditional advertising channels such as TV or print. Since celebrities often have significant influence over teenagers and young adults, their endorsement of alcohol makes alcohol use appear glamorous, fun, and without consequence.
- Contradictory Public Images: Many celebrities promote healthy ways of living, fitness, or social causes while simultaneously pushing alcohol, a product causing significant harm. For example:
- Jennifer Lopez promotes wellness and her Hispanic heritage but markets alcohol to a community that already faces disproportionate alcohol harm.
- Emma Watson is known for her feminist activism yet promotes gin despite alcohol’s link with increased risks of violence against women and breast cancer.
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson frequently advocates for fitness but actively promotes tequila to his vast audience.
Public Health Harms and the Role of Celebrity Alcohol Promotion
Alcohol is a harmful product and the alcohol industry is causing harm with their products and unethical practices.
Communities are expressing concern and public health experts have raised alarms about the normalization of alcohol through celebrity influence:
- Youth Alcohol Initiation: Studies show that alcohol marketing influences underage alcohol use behaviors. Young people who are exposed to alcohol advertising are more likely to start consuming alcohol at an earlier age and consume alcohol more frequently.
- Increased Consumption Trends: When celebrities push alcohol as an aspirational lifestyle choice, it contributes to higher alcohol consumption across all age groups.
- Health Risks Ignored: Alcohol is a leading cause of preventable deaths, contributing to liver disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. The fact that celebrities ignore these risks while cashing in on alcohol sales is a glaring ethical issue.
Broader Social Impact: Who Pays the Price?
Beyond individual health risks, celebrity alcohol promotion contributes to societal problems:
- Marginalized communities face disproportionate harm: Research indicates that communities of color, particularly Black and Hispanic populations, and other vulnerable and marginalized communities suffer disproportionately from alcohol harms.
- Undermining public health efforts: Many communities, civil society organization, and public health experts work to lower the alcohol burden, only to have celebrities glamorize alcohol.
- Corporate social responsibility hypocrisy: Many alcohol companies claim to promote “responsible” alcohol use, yet rely on celebrity endorsements to push alcohol – which often and frequently amounts to an avalanche of alcohol promotions and messages pushing heavy consumption.
Time to Reevaluate Celebrity Endorsements of Alcohol
The unchecked rise of celebrity-endorsed alcohol brands demands scrutiny.
Behind every Instagram toast and movie cameo featuring a branded bottle is a deeper reality—one where alcohol companies and celebrities profit while public health suffers.
Just as tobacco advertising came under the spotlight for the harm it causes and was ultimately banned in most countries, a similar response to alcohol marketing is obviously urgently needed – as the case examples show.
