In a Year of Dumb Business PR and Advertising Moves, This Is the Dumbest So Far

This is one of those times I wish I was a beer drinker — because if I was, my refusal to patronize the Miller Brewing Company would mean something.

Unfortunately for Miller, thanks the the company’s sponsorship (Chicago Tribune link requires registration; HT Michelle Malkin) of an illegal-alien political march shown to have been approved at the headquarters level, a lot of beer-drinking, taxpaying citizens decided to refuse to drink Miller’s products.

Thanks to the company’s cowardly attempt, with the help of a sympathetic Milwaukee paper to pretend that it didn’t have anything more than a very casual association with the event (a pretense not supported by the facts in the Tribune article; Michelle notes in a separate post that the Trib has not issued any corrections), I don’t expect those abstaining from Miller to change their minds any time soon.

Now, it’s time to REALLY get Miller out of their comfort zone and ask this “Drink Responsibly” question: “Are you attempting to capitalize on the fact that Hispanics have been shown to be heavier drinkers than whites, and often not exactly ‘responsible’?”

Hispanics – particularly Hispanic men – tend to have high levels of alcohol-related problems. Several studies by other researchers at the Alcohol Research Group demonstrate a disturbing pattern. For example, those who reported frequent heavy drinking during the previous year (defined as drinking once a week or more often, and having five or more drinks at one sitting at least once a week): white males (12%) and females (2%) versus Hispanic males (18%) and females (3%). Those who reported three or more alcohol-related problems during the previous year (from a list of 29 social and dependence experiences): white males (11%) and females (4%) versus Hispanic males (16%) and females (5%). The mean number of drinks required to feel drunk: whites reported 6.3 while Hispanics reported 7.9. Comparable findings exist at some state levels.

How “responsible” is it to target heavy drinkers, especially when they have a proportionately higher incidence of DUI arrests and accidents (here’s more recent evidence; here’s even more) than whites?

The company might consider what happened to the last industry that was (even if somewhat unfairly, IMO) accused of irresponsible marketing.

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UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more on the company’s pitiful reax. Debbie Schlussel tells us that Anheuser Busch gives scholarships to illegal aliens.