Level(s): Grades 6 to 8
Overview
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In this lesson, students participate in a survey that will help them better understand their attitudes and perceptions regarding sports and advertising. In particular, students will focus on how alcohol companies use sports and sporting events to promote their products and influence consumers. On Day One, students will complete the survey and tally the answers. In groups, they will calculate percentages for responses. On Day Two, students will analyze classroom trends and discuss responses in more detail. For homework, students will research the sports sponsorship portfolios of five beer companies. Day Three focuses on issues surrounding sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol companies.
Learning Outcomes
Students will demonstrate:
an appreciation of:
- the ways in which sports enhances the lives of young people
an awareness of:
- the positive attributes associated with sports and athletes
- the ways in which advertisers use sporting events to influence consumer habits and attitudes
- how advertisers create positive associations with a brand by linking it to sports
- a beginning awareness of how alcohol companies use sponsorship of sporting events and athletes to promote products
- their own attitudes towards alcohol advertising during sporting events
- the negative consequences of drinking
additional skills
- math skills in calculating and applying percentages
Preparation and Materials
Procedure
Day One
On the first day of this lesson, students will complete the Sports Survey and tally their results in order to determine percentages for classroom responses.
Introduction
Today we're going to look at a different side of sports – the relationship between sports and alcohol. In the fall of 2003, the Center for Science in the Public Interest conducted a survey about alcohol advertising and sports on TV. We’re going to complete a mini-version of this survey to see what your opinions are. Remember there are no wrong or right answers. What I’m looking for is your honest opinion, so answer the questions according to how you feel, not what you think I want to hear.
(Distribute the Sports Survey to students. Once they've completed their surveys, have them pass their sheets to a neighbour and, as a class, count responses to each question. Assign four students to fill in class totals on the Sports Survey Tally Sheet as you do this.)
Divide the class into four groups – with one completed Sports Survey Tally Sheet of class totals per group.
Have students determine percentages based on student responses.
- Group One will calculate percentages based on student totals for questions 1-4
- Group Two will calculate percentages based on student totals for questions 5-8
- Group Three will calculate percentages based on student totals for questions 9-12
- Group Four will calculate percentages based on student totals for questions 13-16
Take up percentages and have each group complete their Sports Survey Tally Sheet using information provided by other groups.
Day Two
Based on their responses to the survey, discuss students’ feelings and attitudes towards sports and the advertising of alcohol during televised sporting events.
General discussion points:
- For questions 1-5, you might want to see if there's a significant difference between the responses of girls and of boys. (According to Reginald Bibby's 2001 study of Canadian teens, nearly 40 per cent of teenage boys follow hockey, basketball, football and wrestling on TV – compared with just over 10 per cent of teenage girls.)
- What is it about a team or an athlete that makes you a fan?
- Those of you who believe that participating in sports is an important part of youth development, why is this important?
- What are some of the characteristics that sports helps to develop in kids?
- Those of you who think kids can learn important values by watching or attending sports events, what values can they learn? Those of you who disagree, why do you feel this way?
- Questions 6 and 7 ask whether or not your parents watch televised sports with you and how often they do this. Why do you think these questions were included in a survey about TV sports and alcohol advertising? (Researchers have found that kids who watch sports TV with their parents and talk to them about sports programming – including sponsorship and commercials – have a more balanced perspective about media messages. Because of this, they are less influenced by positive marketing messages connecting drinking with sports. This is especially true for younger kids.)
- Those of you who watch sporting events on TV with your parents, do you ever discuss what you see on the screen?
- In question 8, what types of products were mentioned the most? Think about these products:
- Are any directly related to sports? (For example, athletic equipment, running shoes, and so on.)
- Which are more for adults and which are for kids?
- Now think about the sports you watch on TV.
- What are some words you associate with participating in and watching sports? (Record these words on the board.)
- Do any of these words apply to the products being advertised?
- If you were an advertiser, which of these words would you want to have associated with your product?
- Those of you who remember seeing ads for alcohol, what type of alcohol did you see advertised most often?
- If you were an alcohol company, which of these words would you want associated with your beverage? Are they the same as for the other products?
- What about when alcohol companies sponsor teams? What do they get out of this? (In addition to getting exposure for their brands, alcohol companies promote their sports sponsorships as a contribution to the community. When describing their involvement with sports, company literature paints a picture of the company as the ultimate fan, using words such as "passion," "pride," "commitment," "team spirit" and "tradition." Words you don't hear are "profit," "promotion," "product placement" and "positioning.")
- Let's look at beer for a minute. Beer companies are very active when it comes to advertising during sporting events and sponsoring sports teams. In fact, in the United States, four beer companies account for nearly 60% of all alcohol advertised during college sporting events. Why might people be particularly concerned about ads for beer during sports events? (Beer is the number one beverage choice of teenagers, so beer brands promoted during sports events are going to attract the attention of teens.)
- Regarding question 12, why did you agree or disagree with the statement: "Beer companies that advertise on sporting events know their ads appeal to persons under the legal drinking age"? (The important word in this sentence is "appeal." It's well documented that an advertising campaign targeted to 21-year-olds will probably also appeal to teens.)
- For question 13, the heart of the issue is "Do brewers intentionally target people under 21 with ads on sports programming?" Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? (65 per cent of parents who completed the original survey believe that alcohol companies intentionally target young people in this way.)
- Do you agree or disagree that beer advertising during sporting events encourages teens to drink? Why? What are the messages to teens when alcohol is paired with playing and watching sports?
- Do you think boys might be more influenced than girls? Why?
- Can you think of another form of entertainment promoting drinking that might have a bigger influence? (Alcohol use is often glamorized in music videos, and excessive partying and drinking are promoted in most "teen flicks.")
Sponsorship of Sports by Alcohol Companies
The original version of this survey was produced because of concerns about the sponsorship of college and university sporting events by beer and alcohol companies. This is because drinking in colleges – especially binge drinking – is considered a serious problem.
- Why do you think drinking by college and university students is considered a major health concern? (In addition to the very real health and safety risks posed to individuals who binge drink, this activity has also been tied to poor school performance, physical and sexual assaults, vandalism and getting in trouble with the law and with others.)
- Ironically, studies have found students who are involved in college athletics have significantly higher levels of alcohol use than non-athletes. Also, college sports fans are five times more likely to binge drink than non-sports fans. Why do you think this is so?
- Is there a culture around sports that encourages drinking? Explain.
Universities and colleges have been working hard to address this issue through prevention and education programs, but, at the same time, many permit alcohol companies to sponsor athletic and other campus events. Is this appropriate? (Permit students to debate this question.)
Homework Assignment
In order to give them a better understanding of the prevalence of alcohol industry sponsorship in sports, have students conduct online research to list the teams and events sponsored by one of the following breweries: Anheuser-Busch, Adolph Coors Co., Molson Breweries, Miller Brewing Company or Labatt. (Randomly assign these companies to students.)
Because this assignment will involve visiting company Web sites, distribute the Letter to Parents explaining the nature of this assignment.
Remind students that they are to consider all sports connections – from the naming of arenas (for example, the Molson Centre), to TV shows (for example, ESPN "Original" Entertainment), to the sponsoring of local teams. Their goal is to get as much information as possible.
Bonus question: "What does your company say about its sponsorship of sports?"
Day Three
In Canada, alcohol companies are allowed to sponsor athletic and cultural events, but tobacco companies are not. Why might this be? (The logic here is that there is no “safe” use of tobacco, whereas alcohol, when consumed responsibly by adults can be safely used.)
Take up homework assignments. (Answers may include:
Anheuser-Busch: 2002 Winter Olympics, World Cup soccer, Ladies Professional Golf Association [LPGA], Major League Baseball [MLB], Major League Soccer [MLS], National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing [NASCAR], National Basketball Association [NBA]), National Football League [NFL], National Hockey League [NHL], Professional Golfer's Association [PGA], Women's National Basketball Association [WNBA].
Adolph Coors Co.: ESPN programming, NFL, Colorado Rockies baseball team and stadium [Coors paid $15 million for the name "Coors Field"], Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, NASCAR, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, pro-golf tournaments, professional lacrosse teams.
Miller Brewing Company: 20 NFL teams; professional baseball, basketball, hockey teams; NASCAR and GrandPrix Racing. In the Chicago area, it sponsors the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks.
Labatt: NHL, Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association teams and leagues, professional baseball [Toronto Blue Jays and, previously, the Expos], amateur sports such as softball, fastball, slo-pitch championships, provincial curling, major, junior and recreational hockey championships, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Football League [CFL] teams [Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers], Canada Cup hockey, NHL hockey broadcasts on CBC.
Molson: Action sports such as skiing, boarding and biking [Molson Canadian Snow Jam]; Molson Indy Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal; National Basketball Association; Canadian National Basketball teams and Toronto Raptors; CFL teams [Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Renegades, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders]; National Lacrosse League and 3 teams [Toronto Rock, Calgary Roughnecks, Vancouver Ravens]; WWE wrestling; Team Canada hockey; NHL teams [Montreal Canadians [the Molson Centre] Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres], as well as national and provincial junior hockey leagues.)
Class Discussion
- Which brewery supports the most teams?
- Which sport is most popular with breweries?
- Which sport do you most often see on TV?
- How many of these are international teams or events?
- How many of these are national teams or events?
- How many are local or community teams or events?
- Do any of these teams or events have a particular appeal to kids and teens?
- Those of you who answered the bonus question, what do the breweries have to say about why they sponsor sports?
- Do you believe alcohol companies do this out of the kindness of their heart? (These companies pay millions of dollars to sponsor teams – in 2003, Coors paid $300 million dollars to be the National Football League's "Official Beer." It also paid $15 million for the naming rights to the stadium where the Colorado Rockies baseball team plays. Companies wouldn't spend this kind of money unless they believed they were getting a return on their investment.)
As a class, brainstorm the ways in which an alcohol company is promoted through sports sponsorship. (In addition to commercials shown during sporting events, answers may include: having the company name on the stadium, lots of signage and branding on the field and even on uniforms, having pre- and post-game analysis shows "brought to you by” the alcohol company, serving its beverage at the stadium in branded cups, having the company brand associated with a winning team, getting kudos for being a good corporate citizen and for supporting athletes and sports in your country and community.)
So far we've talked about the alcohol companies. Why do you think athletes, athletic associations, sports leagues and sports teams accept money from alcohol companies?
Journal Entry
In their journals or notebooks, have students respond to the following questions:
- Do you think alcohol companies should be able to sponsor sports and sporting events? List your reasons why or why not.
- What do you think is the main cause behind the culture of drinking that exists around sports and sporting events? Why?
- Do you believe teens are influenced by alcohol advertising during sporting events? Explain your answer.
