Dear Editor,
The misleading beer commercials that have been flooding our TV screens during the family dinner-time and relaxation periods in the evening with family and friends, are a new low for the advertising industry in Guyana.
In fact, I am not surprised that the government is allowing this ad to continue, because it involves some sort of psychological technique which makes consumers think that they are really contributing to the tax system. These ads should be aired later in the evening when children have gone to bed; better yet, they should be taken off the airwaves.
What nonsense will they tell Guyanese next? While newer innovative advertisements are welcome (especially here in Guyana where a typical advertisement airs for months, sometimes years, on TV) we have to be careful what kind of message we’re passing on to our young ones who are ever so glued to the TV these days. We want to stamp out smoking in our country, and even advertisements which showcase cigarettes, while the alcohol feeding frenzy continues. Full page advertisements are in newspapers on World No Tobacco Day, but when is World No Alcohol Day? (India has put the idea of having October 2 annually as World No Alcohol Day to the World Health Assembly and approval is pending). This double standard we embrace must stop now.
The link this beer ad makes to the purchase of this product with the tax system is a desperate attempt to make money off Guyanese.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Jameson Suseran
