2011 'Free The Bowl From Beer Ads'

Marin Institute has launched its third annual, countrywide, anti-alcohol-advertising contest at FreeTheBowl.com.

This year's theme - "Free the Bowl from Beer Ads" - seeks original, 30-60 seconds long, "performance art" counter-beer-ads from youth and young adults ages 10-20.

"Marin Institute's Free The Bowl™ contest is an engaging way for young people to digitally protest inappropriate alcohol ads during TV sporting events," stated Michael Scippa, Marin Institute's public affairs director. "Excessive Big Alcohol beer ads create an environment that promotes unhealthy consumption among vulnerable youth and adults."

Research has shown that the more alcohol ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink, drink to excess and drink more often. In 2009, the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking reported that 5,000 people under the age of 21 die annually from injuries caused by alcohol. Hundreds of thousands more suffer alcohol-fueled sexual assaults, serious injuries, diseases and academic failure.

"Foreign-based alcohol corporations spend half a billion dollars annually advertising during TV sports programs," said Scippa.

"And the holy grail of beer ad venues is the Super Bowl, where Anheuser-Busch InBev burns ten solid minutes of beer brands into the developing brains of an estimated 30 million underage football fans. Free The Bowl™ allows youth to say to A-B InBev, CBS-TV and the NFL, NO MORE BEER ADS!"

Over the past two years the competition has attracted nearly 100 entries from 30 different states. This year, young filmmakers are being challenged to create original music, dance, rap or spoken word videos that carry the contest’s core message – Free The Bowl from beer ads.

The deadline for video entries is January 24, 2011. Contest winners will be announced during the Free The Bowl™ 2011 World Premiere, February 3, 2011, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California.

To view past years' winning videos, this year's promotional videos, and for more information on contest rules, entry details and prizes, visit FreeTheBowl.com.

For background information on the effects of alcohol advertising on youth go to MarinInstitute.org.