A few years ago, Anheuser-Busch Inc. created a new division dedicated to marketing to Hispanics and announced it would boost its ad spending in Hispanic media by twothirds to more than $60 million, while Miller Brewing Co. signed a $100 million, three-year ad package with Spanishlanguage broadcaster Univision Communications Inc.
But Hispanic activists immediately raised public-health concerns about the beer ad blitz on the grounds that it targets a population that skews young and is disproportionately likely to abuse alcohol. Surveys of Hispanic youth show that they are much more likely to drink alcohol, get drunk, and to engage in binge drinking, than their white or black peers. A senior executive at Anheuser-Busch responded, "We would disagree with anyone who suggests beer billboards increase abuse among Latino or other minority communities. It would be poor business for us in today's world to ignore what is the fastest-growing segment of our population."56 Manufacturers of alcohol and tobacco products have been criticized for targeting unwholesome products to certain segments of the market-the aged, ethnic minorities, the disabled, and others. Do you view this as a problem?
Should a firm use different criteria in targeting such groups? Should the government oversee and control such marketing activities?