ALCOHOL ADVERTISING AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - A MEDIA ADVOCACY CASE-STUDY

This article describes one effort to help prevent violence against wom en by addressing some of the larger societal factors involved. The Dan gerous Promises campaign is based on the premise that sexist advertisi ng images contribute to an environment conducive to violence against w omen. The goal of the campaign is to convince alcohol companies to eli minate sexist alcohol advertising and promotions. Using the tools of c ommunity organizing and media advocacy, the campaign pressures the alc ohol industry to change the ways in which they portray women in much o f their advertising. Media advocacy has been instrumental in the succe sses of the campaign. This article examines the strategies and outcome s of the Dangerous Promises efforts to date and makes a case for appli cation of media advocacy as a tool for increasing community voice in p olicymaking processes.