Bad Brews

Group Sues Brewers, Claims Minors Are Targeted

A group of California residents filed a lawsuit against the two largest U.S. brewers, claiming the companies are targeting minors with their advertising, the group said on Wednesday.

The suit, which names Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. SABMiller Plc unit Miller Brewing as defendants, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. A similar case filed in November did not involve the two brewers.

"We allege and intend to prove that these manufacturers are luring underage drinkers into potentially life-threatening addictions before they have the maturity necessary to make an informed decision whether to consume alcohol," plaintiff's attorney Steve Berman said in a statement.

Representatives at Anheuser-Busch and Miller were not immediately available to comment.

Probably because they were tied up in meetings with the other three Despotic Evils of today (the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and processed food companies) collaborating on the Next Big Thing in America's moral and physical downfall. You see, these bastards care about one thing only: their ever-fattening paychecks and if the only way they can sell their disgusting and contemptible products is through deep-level mind manipulation via the puppetstrings of TV and billboards, then they'll do it.

It's not as if anyone has any responsibility for what they do anymore.

Except for the executives at the companies, of course. They are certainly responsible for their actions.

The lawsuit, which is seeking restitution based on profit gained from marketing to underage consumers, claims that packaging on some products such as Anheuser-Busch's Doc Otis' Hard Lemon Malt Beverage and Miller's Jack Daniel's Original Hard Cola resemble packaging on soda.

The group also says Anheuser-Busch spent $190,000 on television advertisements in 2001 on television shows where the youth audience exceeded 50 percent of the viewership. Both companies advertise in magazines with teenage readership as high as 41 percent, according to the lawsuit.

Copyright 2004 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved.

Instead of the named alcohol companies, insert anything you consider harmful for some protected or privileged group. Mix well and serve slowly for thirty years. Wake up with a hangover and realize your individual freedoms have been reduced to lip-serviced political ads.

Conservatives blame the lawyers for this. I think the blame should be two-fold: the lawyers who accept and take these lawsuits forward AND the insufferable jerks who file them.

Posted by Drizzten at February 04, 2004 10:09 AM