Anheuser-Busch, UI & Hawks a Win-Win-Win

September 17, 2012, 12:10 p.m.
Advertising Pays
There are numerous stories of the almost miraculous impact of advertising, including these from the 1960s reported in How to Talk Back to Your Television Set: "Alberto Culver relied almost exclusively on television advertising, and pushed its sales from $1.5 million in 1956 to $80 million in 1964. The manufacturer of the bottled liquid cleaner Lestoil undertook a $9 million television advertising program and watched his sales go from 150,000 bottles annually to 100 million in three years--in competition with Procter and Gamble, Lever Brothers, Colgate, and others. The Dreyfus Fund went from assets of $95 million in 1959 to $1.1 billion in 1965 and concluded, 'TV works for us.'" How to Talk Back to Your Television Set (1970), pp. 21-22.

Now it looks like the story of the joint marketing agreement between the University of Iowa and Anheuser-Busch -- designed to increase sales of the company's beer to the University's college students -- is soon to join those historic tales.

Last week's game did not go very well on the field, or in the adjoining neighborhood. "Football Trash Talk; Iowa City: Where Great Minds Drink Alike," September 12, 2012.

Last Saturday's [Sept. 15] game against UNI went better both on and off the field. The Hawks won, 27-16, and there may have been slightly less drunkenness and trash on the neighbors' property -- although as this picture shows, there's still a shortage of students brought up to pick up. And a part of the reason may still be alcohol consumption. Last week I relayed that the Daily Iowan reported 78 arrests; this morning it reported 119. "Police Blotter," Daily Iowan, September 17, 2012.

Some of the arrest records reveal the seriousness of the problem. (Names, although in the public record and media, redacted from this blog entry for reasons of privacy and lack of relevance.) Note that the legal age in Iowa for obtaining or consuming alcohol is 21. You can argue about what it ought to be, but that is what it is. Of the following individuals, one was one day over 21, all others were under the legal age. Thus, not only were they illegally consuming alcohol; someone had illegally provided them that alcohol. Note also that the blood alcohol level that constitutes DWI is 0.08 percent. All whose blood alcohol percentages were mentioned here were over that level. (Another man, over 21, who tried to enter the University Hospital through a plate glass window, had a level of 0.310.) Here's an excerpt from the report: "[Name], 21, of Cedar Rapids, told officers he partied a bit too hard for his 21st birthday. [He] was found vomiting inside Kinnick Stadium and blew a .123 on a preliminary breath test. He was arrested for public intoxication. [Name], 18, of Iowa City; [Name], 19 of Cedar Rapids; and [Name], 19, of Iowa City, all were found passed out in Kinnick Stadium restrooms within 30 minutes of each other. [Name] was vomiting and [Name] had defecated on herself. All three women had blood-alcohol contents between .127 percent and .177 percent. They were arrested for public intoxication. Men pass out inside Kinnick Stadium, too, as proven by . . . [Name], 19, of Iowa City. . . . [He] was found passed out in a bathroom. . . . [Name], 20, of Iowa City, was arrested after he tried to carry prohibited items into the stadium . . .. He refused a breath test but was charged with public intoxication . . .." Lee Hermiston, "Gameday Arrests Down From ISU Game," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 18, 2012, p. A1. (Differences in numbers of arrests are due to a "gameday" only count and the Daily Iowan's "Police Blotter" report on Monday from the football weekend -- which showed an increase between the ISU and UNI weekends.)

What also was different this last Saturday was that my eye began to focus on the content of the trash, like that of an archeologist digging through the remnants from an ancient civilization. The ratio of Anheuser-Busch beer can containers to those of the company's competitors was grossly disproportionate -- something I'd failed to notice the week before (although I see one of the pictures I displayed in last week's blog entry does show such a container).

In case you missed the news, the University of Iowa and its Athletic Department have entered into a joint marketing agreement with Anheuser-Busch. The company gets to associate itself with UI athletics with its use of the Herky logo, in exchange for which the University gets some cash. For background and commentary on the Anheuser-Busch deal, UI's alcohol programs, and numerous ignored proposals for improvement, see, among many more, e.g.: "UI Administrators 'Shocked' By School's Beer Ads," August 30, 2012; "'We're # 2!' . . . in Campus Drunks," August 21, 2012; "A Busch in the Hand is Worth . . .," June 16, 2012; "Lessons from Lincoln: Reducing Binge Drinking Hazards," May 21, 2010; UI's Alcohol Abuse: Look to Nebraska," December 28, 2009; UI's Alcohol Problem: Many Solutions, Little Will; Alcohol Back in the News? No, Always in the News," December 16, 2009 (with links to 30 more); "Getting Real About Alcohol," January 18, 2008.

From the looks of the trash this week, it looks like it's a win-win-win. The Hawks win the game, and Anheuser-Busch's sales of Bud Lite and Busch Lite must be way up.

The other thing to notice in these first two pictures are the empty containers of Anheuser-Busch product that have been dropped within arms reach of trash containers that could easily have held them.

Here are more examples of Anheuser-Busch sales at a variety of other locations.

Advertisers are always looking for tangible evidence that the millions they spend on advertising, with and without logos, is actually having some impact. Anheuser-Busch and the University should be very proud of what, together, they have been able to accomplish. The proof is in the trash.

# # #

Football Trash Talk

September 12, 2012 10:10 a.m.

Iowa City: Where Great Minds Drink Alike

Football is not pretty. Last Saturday [Sept. 8] it was the Iowa State game. This Saturday it will be the University of Northern Iowa.

Last Saturday may be the worst I've ever seen.

And I'm not even talking about the Hawkeyes' performance inside Kinnick. Nor am I talking about the exploitation of student athletes for what is, in fact, big business -- complete with TV revenues, multi-million-dollar facilities, budgets (and salaries). I'm not talking about current concern over the life-long consequences for players from concussions and other injuries.

I'm talking about one of the consequences from the University of Iowa's alcohol culture -- the effort to mix what the pictured shirt advertises ("Iowa City: Great Minds Drink Alike") as the improbable co-existence of "great minds" and a student binge drinking rate twice the national average.

On Monday the Daily Iowan reported 78 arrests, most of which involved alcohol. "Police Blotter, Daily Iowan, September 10, 2012, p. 2. On Tuesday it reported that, among Iowa's state schools, "the UI ranks highest in total number of incidents reported, total number of charges, and total number of people arrested in both 2011 and the first half of 2012." "New crime stats show UI highest in overall activity", Daily Iowan, September 11, 2012, p. 2. The Press-Citizen and Register reported, Lee Hermiston, "140 alcohol citations given near Kinnick on Saturday," Iowa City Press-Citizen/Des Moines Register, September 11, 2012.

But even with regard to alcohol, I'm not talking about the personal and institutional consequences of this culture -- the self-inflicted injuries, the violence, the unwanted pregnancies, permanent brain damage, the hospital admissions for injuries and near-fatal blood alcohol levels, the drunk driving deaths and injuries to others, the missed classes, absenteeism from work, and the ultimate student drop-out rates. E.g., Robert McCoppin, "Colleges try new tactics in battle against binge drinking; Campuses offer safety training, sponsor dry events and require alcohol assessments, but 'there is no magic bullet,' an NU official says," Chicago Tribune, September 5, 2012 ("[T]he National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, blames binge drinking for more than 1,800 college student deaths a year . . .. Research shows that frequent binge drinkers are more likely to miss classes, get hurt, engage in risky sex and have problems in class."); Rick Nauert, "Binge Drinking Linked to Brain Damage," PsycCentral, June 28, 2011 ("experts now believe binge drinking can cause serious brain damage").

What I'm limiting myself to this morning is the behavior of the fans, its impact on the residential neighborhoods surrounding the stadium, and more specifically what it says about the attitudes of fans and university officials.

It just seemed to me last Saturday that the music was much louder, the language more gross, the drunkenness more obvious, and the urination on private lawns more offensive.

And the trash. Oh, the trash.

Bottles are thrown in the air just for the thrill of watching them fall and shatter. Cans are dropped, rather than put in available trash containers.

Eventually, at least most of it gets picked up within a couple of days -- thanks in large measure to the homeless and others who gather and recycle the cans. Even they are handicapped, however, by what seems to be the new macho sport of can crushing. Crushed cans can't be recycled, so they are left on private property.

It's bad enough that fans just drop their trash wherever they happen to be. What's worse for homeowners, however, is that the students don't just drop it. That would make it easier for others to pick up. Rather, they choose to demonstrate their athletic prowess, having crushed the can, by throwing their trash of all kinds into and under bushes and shrubs. As a result, picking up trash from one's yard requires crawling under the bushes to try to retrieve trash that is visible but well out of reach. This picture illustrates a small portion of what one elderly woman was able to retrieve, and pile up, before carrying it to her own trash container.

What I found especially offensive was the trash deposited in front of the Mormon "Institute of Religion." It is, among other things, a rather ironic choice of location for one's alcohol-related trash, given that UI's Mormon students are the one group that neither consumes alcohol nor has been brought up to drop their trash for others to pick up. I'm not a member of the LDS church, but I like to see respect accorded all religions and their property. It may be those who put it there were simply demonstrating the same general drunken thoughtlessness that was evident throughout the neighborhood and that -- notwithstanding the sign out front -- they were totally unaware of the purpose of one of the neighborhood's finest buildings. At least I hope it was no more than that.

Whatever UI's administrators may say, these pictures reflect what "Responsibility Matters" looks like. (To borrow from the Chicago teachers' picketing chant, "this is what democracy looks like," I can hear the trash protesters pointing and chanting: "Show me what 'responsibility' looks like" -- "This is what 'responsibility' looks like.")

In fairness, it's tough for a university administration to simultaneously try to (1) carry out programs designed to discourage college students from binge drinking and other forms of alcohol abuse and its consequences, while (2) (a) engaging in a lucrative joint-marketing agreement designed to increase the sale of Anheuser-Busch products, and (b) engaging in a gambling bet between the presidents of Iowa and Iowa State in which the winner gets -- that's right, a bottle of booze. (The UI administration has reassured critics of this last seeming conflict by noting that it advises that hard liquor as well as beer should also be consumed "responsibily.") Iowa State, Iowa university presidents settle up on college football bet," Des Moines Register/Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 13, 2012 ("On the line was a bottle of Templeton Rye, a drink sold by an Iowa-based company and billed as 'Prohibition-era whiskey.' . . . [D]oes wagering alcohol while the university works to curb problem drinking send a mixed message? University officials say no.")

The UI administration recently bragged that some of the alcohol abuse statistics on campus had actually declined. (Binge drinking rates remain twice the national average.) The leader of the school's "Responsibility Matters" movement concedes, however, that “Culture change takes a long time.” True. But I rather suspect that "culture change" takes longer still at a university that promotes the sale of beer, and whose administrators gamble with bottles of hard liquor. Just saying. Nate Otjen, "Iowa City-UI alcohol partnership touts new statistics," Daily Iowan, September 13, 2012.

For background and commentry on the Anheuser-Busch deal, UI's alcohol programs, and numerous ignored proposals for improvement, see, among many more, e.g.: "UI Administrators 'Shocked' By School's Beer Ads," August 30, 2012; "'We're # 2!' . . . in Campus Drunks," August 21, 2012; "A Busch in the Hand is Worth . . .," June 16, 2012; "Lessons from Lincoln: Reducing Binge Drinking Hazards," May 21, 2010; UI's Alcohol Abuse: Look to Nebraska," December 28, 2009; UI's Alcohol Problem: Many Solutions, Little Will; Alcohol Back in the News? No, Always in the News," December 16, 2009 (with links to 30 more); "Getting Real About Alcohol," January 18, 2008.

Apparently the Melrose neighborhood was not the only repository for trash. "A mass of volunteers descended upon Kinnick Stadium last weekend. Their task was simple— recycle every piece of waste. . . . Roughly 4,700 pounds of recycling were collected . . .. 'The majority of waste is in the stands after the game,' said . . . the president of Delta Tau Delta." Kelsey L. Johnson, "Recycling Initiatives for Iowa-Iowa State Game Yield Results," Daily Iowan, September 14, 2012. Two thoughts: Over two tons of trash left behind by fans! A multi-million-dollar football program that doesn't pay the players the fans come to see, and then relies on volunteers to pick up the trash their entertainment program produces?!

Ah, but there's more. Apparently downtown Iowa City wasn't very pretty either. "On Sunday morning at 9 a.m., downtown Iowa City wasn’t the fun-filled place to party. It was a place no public relations firm would want to promote. I saw numerous piles of vomit, broken bar glasses and beer bottles, numerous plates of half-eaten food sitting around the outdoor cafés, and trash blowing everywhere." Andrea Rauer, "Use Beer Money to Clean Downtown," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 14, 2012, p. A7.

As for UI's students with alcohol-soaked "great minds," someone, sometime, better tell them that a great mind with a B.A. degree is only one of many, many qualities necessary to progress along the road to whatever they consider "success" -- whether the financial ability to engage in the "conspicuous consumption" of the rich, or a reduced-stress bliss. Along with at least minimal social and time-management skills, and what my parents' generation used to call "the sense God gave geese," it includes things as mundane as the civility to pick up and dispose of one's own trash.

And that's the point of this blog entry. It's not about football or alcohol -- although both are involved. It's about being thoughtful, and sensitive to others. And it's about, as was the case during the recent Penn State discussion, what the NCAA calls "institutional control." "Institutional Control," NCAA Constitution, Art. 6, NCAA 2011-12 Division I Manual, p. 43; and see Michelle Brutlag Hosick, "Presidential Leadership Drives Transformation," NCAA News, June 28, 2012.