#Cheers: An Examination of User-Generated Alcohol Advertising on Instagram

Alcohol marketing is a known risk factor for youth drinking. The growth in digital marketing has generated a new form of alcohol advertisement in which brands solicit and/or share consumer-generated or user-generated content. The current study investigates the prevalence of UGC alcohol advertising on social media and examines the content of UGC advertising to determine potential violations of current regulatory guidelines. The Instagram accounts of 20 Nova Scotia breweries were monitored for the month of July 2021. User-generated content made up a substantial portion (41%) of all Instagram stories (n = 1531), and there were 321 violations of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission code for broadcast advertising of alcoholic beverage. Ten percent of violations encouraged consumption, 59% depicted irresponsible use, 14% appealed to youth, 14% associated alcohol with activities requiring a degree of skill or care, 2.5% associated alcohol with social or personal success. : These findings indicate that UGC is a commonly used marketing strategy among alcohol producers and the current self-regulatory system is insufficient in preventing advertising that appeals to youth and exacerbates a culture of immoderate consumption.