Marin Independent Journal 'Scary Movie 3' frightens Marin alcohol watchdog
By Nancy Isles Nation
IJ reporter
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - Nancy Isles Nation
"Scary Movie 3" opens in Marin tomorrow, but a San Rafael nonprofit organization is hoping audiences will avoid it because they say it is a vehicle to market beer to young people.
The Marin Institute, an organization that works to reduce alcohol problems and promote alcohol industry responsibility, is telling parents that the PG-13 movie is a feature-length commercial by the Adolph Coors Co.
"What is scariest about 'Scary Movie 3' is that it appeals to youth," said Laurie Leiber, a spokeswoman for the Marin Institute.
The most obvious beer tie-in to the movie is the role of the "Coors twins," 20-something twin blondes who promote the brewery's products on television and print ad campaigns.
"The twins have become a prominent icon," Leiber said. "They are to Coors beer what Ronald McDonald is to hamburgers."
But a spokeswoman for the movie studio, Miramax Films/Dimension Films, said the twins are two of many pop-cultural references in the film, and they only appear for about 10 seconds.
"I do not think it's going to encourage beer consumption," said the spokeswoman, Emili Bear. "They're in one small scene. This is not a scene that encourages drinking in any way."
Coors officials could not be reached for comment last night.
Leiber has organized high school students with the Youth Leadership Institute in San Rafael to distribute palm-size cards at the opening of the film tomorrow at the Mall at Northgate, adding their own parental-guidance warning.
Kara Ketchum, 15, a student at Redwood High School in Larkspur, hopes to take part in the activity. She has a 10-year-old brother and said it horrifies her that he could see the movie.
"I just think there is something wrong with a beer company to promote itself through a movie that is targeted toward children," Ketchum said, adding that the twins, who are usually scantily clad, are known best among high school boys. "They're targeted."
Ketchum said she doesn't think kids will walk away from the theater thinking drinking is great, but they will think that Coors is cool for promoting the movie.
The students face one glitch, however, because they have not gotten permission from mall management to distribute their materials.
Sandra Kim, marketing manager at the mall, said many groups get permission to offer information at Northgate but they must submit their applications four days in advance. Kim said she just received the institute's application on Tuesday.
Kim said she has given the application to the property manager, who will decide whether to make an exception.
Looking beyond the movie, Leiber said she is frightened that Coors appears to be acting in defiance of the National Academy of Science's call for the alcohol industry to refrain from marketing practices that appeal to underage audiences.
The Marin Institute began its "Scary Beer Ads Campaign" with YLI in the county but hopes organizations in other parts of the country join in.
The Oregonian newspaper, in Portland, Ore., climbed on board yesterday with an editorial called "Spillage in Alcohol Advertising," based on information from the Marin Institute.
Leiber doesn't know whether the makers of "Scary Movie 3" are guilty of product placement, but said YLI students will monitor the movie to keep track of whether Coors products are promoted and how much of a role the twins have.
"Movies are a youth culture thing that are really widespread," Leiber said. "It's a really clever way Coors has figured out to reach young people as well as older people."
Contact Nancy Isles Nation via e-mail at nnation@marinij.com |
