Ireland: Diageo Targets Children
In Ireland, Diageo targets children with a new “Guinness Easter Egg” product. The company has come under fire from Alcohol Action Ireland for this “insidious reach towards children.”
A supermarket product, Guinness Easter Egg, comes in a pack with the Guinness name and logo displayed on the front. These “Easter Eggs” contain 5% Guinness beer in each egg encased in dark and white chocolate. The product is priced at €12.
Easter eggs are a product marketed to and attractive to children. While Diageo is claiming the egg is offered for adults, using Easter eggs in itself is a strategy to attract children.
Diageo is also trying to avoid responsibility by saying while the product is licensed under the company its not owned, marketed or sold by them.
The eggs in question are produced under license – Guinness do not own, market or sell the product,” said a spokeswoman of Diageo, as per Irish Mirror.
Alcohol Action Ireland criticized the product for its attractiveness to children.
This is how future [alcohol users] are enrolled.
The alcohol industry is adept at attaching its products to all social occasions and this insidious reach towards children is deeply regrettable,” said a spokesman for Alcohol Action Ireland, as per, Irish Mirror.
Big Alcohol is constantly trying to make their products more attractive to children, while appearing to abide by laws. Last year, Movendi International reported the industry using frozen vodka ice blocks and cheap ciders labelled with rainbows, unicorns and cartoons to encourage under-age alcohol use, in Australia.
Big Alcohol promotes their products to children because children are the future. There is an increasing trend for younger generations to go alcohol-free. This trend is a threat to Big Alcohol profits, so to sustain the industry, new consumers need to be recruited, regardless of the harm it causes.
This is not the first time for Diageo to engage in unethical marketing practices. Diageo has been exposed for using marketing campaigns, messages and images that are sexualizing, de-humanizing and objectifying women.