TGIF :: The Role Alcohol Plays in A Family Affair

#62 || What are we "consuming" and what is the impact when media companies are making megabucks selling boozy product placements?

Jul 05, 2024

You are reading ClearLife, an exploration of life without “dimmers” such as escapist drinking, eating, snark, exercise, shopping, sex, work, drugs—even generosity—in pursuit of a more intentional, present, and embodied way of being. Prior posts are available here. You can also find the first season of the Undimmed podcast, real conversations with real people about their journeys on Apple Podcasts here or Spotify podcasts here.

Surprise: Rest!

I’ve been muddling through Covid this week, a case worse than I recall from my previous bout in 2022. Instead of hosting a long-planned series of afternoon adventures for my 13-year-old and his friends, I’ve been at home listening to esoteric Tibetan bells music, attending zooms for Wisdom Ventures, and navigating a memorabilia purge (as you can see from the image above, I have a long way to go)…

What does one do with a box of mementos from a long expired marriage?

How many pictures from my 1994, 1999, and 2001 India trips do I really need to keep?

Wow, my complete 1992 University of California application file—this will be interesting for my soon-to-be high school senior…right?

You get the idea.

I’m finally feeling better as I write this, much later on a Friday morning than usual. I have enormous passion for the topic in this one, so let’s get into it already.

WTF with all of the Booze?

Given my low energy and a week of cancelled plans, Soren (who seems to be immune still after his Covid trials last summer) and I watched a movie over two nights. We ventured into the rara territory of romantic comedy, agreeing that A Family Affair looked funny (we needed a laugh).

Apparently we’re not alone. This Netflix original, starring Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, is pitched as “The only thing worse than being the assistant to a high-maintenance movie star who doesn't take you seriously? Finding out he's smitten with your mom.” It topped the charts with almost 30 million views in the four days since its debut on June 28th.

It is funny—and cheesy, and I don’t really recommend it. That said, do I have thoughts (and feelings!) about (1) the prevalence of brand-specific alcohol throughout the movie (movies generally?) and (2) the role booze plays in the storyline and message.

This post is not about this specific film, per se—or whether alcohol (or any other) product placement deals should be permitted or disclosed. It’s also not really about the role alcohol plays in media today—with lots of similarities to the role cigarettes played in TV and films for decades. Today’s post is an invitation to us all to simply be aware of what we are consuming when we watch media—and the potential impact it has on us (and the younger ones among us).

First, some basics:

Netflix & Product Placement

Netflix has an astonishing 260 million subscribers worldwide, of which 45% are in North America, watching an average of 62 minutes a day making $34 billion a year.
55% of all hours watched on Netflix are of “original content,” meaning Netflix-produced content instead of licensed content (more control over everything, especially money in and money out).
Product placement is replacing traditional advertising (pre-rolls or in-show ads) as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon continue to grow.1 This embedded marketing strategy consists of featuring a brand on a medium to grant it exposure and trying to enhance its alleged qualities. You can view a brilliant and creative deep dive on this in the New York Times here: Anatomy of a Product Placement; As consumers skip ads and streaming content balloons, brands aim to be everywhere all at once (6/24/22).
In 2024, product placement revenues worldwide will amount to an estimated $33 billion, up ~13% from $29 billion a year earlier.2 This is a trend line that is expected to grow as we watch less ads, and more streaming content.
Netflix original shows include more product placements than non-Netflix shows as Netflix continues to lean into product placement as a significant revenue source.3

Alcohol & Alcohol Brands in A Family Affair

Some of the alcohol product placement I noticed in this film (I’ll get to the role it plays in the storyline next):

Casamigos Blanco Tequila fueling a day drinking scene that ends in passionate sex among virtual strangers that is so shocking to the lead’s adult daughter that she ends up in a medical clinic.
Copious amounts of wine are served on a “date” followed by a six pack of Pacifico and another sex scene.
Champagne during the day while playing backgammon, more sex scenes.
The 20-something “kids” drinking Volnay red wine and eating snacks while at Mom’s house, again, during daytime December in California.
The same Volnay wine at Christmas dinner (the square shot of the label screaming product placement dollars).
Chamomile liqueur fueling an important and honest conversation after dinner.
A six-pack of Miller Lite beer as a makeup gesture among squabbling friends.

From A Family Affair (2024) Movie Product Placement Database

Not a big deal, really, right? I mean, all kinds of people drink. Why not show what they are drinking? The invitation here is to recognize that we are not just watching a movie. We are consuming a new generation of advertisements as we view this content. None of these product placements are an accident. Every detail is negotiated, paid for, and reported on. Our views generate sales. We are part of the system when we consume this product placement-rich media.

The Big Role Booze Plays in A Family Affair

This film (among countless others, especially Netflix “originals”) is heavily funded by the alcohol industry. And it’s sending us a clear message: Life is better with booze.

Let me elaborate.

The first thirty minutes of this two hour film are virtually alcohol free. We get to know the context and characters. Work is stressful. Break-ups suck. Household chores are mundane. Clothing is conservative. No fun. No sex. No play.

Everything shifts when a bottle of tequila (none other than Casamigos tequila, already in legal hot water for its extensive product placement follies) is shared among the leads, strangers with emerging chemistry, at the :30 mark. Before we know it, music is playing, personal stories are being shared, clothes are being ripped off, and spontaneous sex among strangers draws us in. The dates, meals, heart-to-hearts, make-up visits among friends, and basically all other interactions among the characters through the end of the two hours are fueled by one form of alcoholic drink or another.

The Invitation: 2nd Awareness & Conscious Consumption

Today is not the day to tackle the enormous topics of product placement, lack of transparency across media funding from the alcohol industry, and overall disclosure mandates in a single TGIF. (Though I do appreciate Movendi’s coverage after folks in the UK started taking a closer look at this topic.)

My invitation is for us all to be aware of what we are consuming at all times—whether it is ingested or otherwise “consumed” in the form of a Netflix RomCom, social media, sports events ads, or magazines. The Second Awareness is about agency—choosing not only what we let in, but how we let it impact us.

The invitation is to ask ourselves from time to time:

What messages are we receiving when we consume media, especially regarding alcohol use—or other dimmers?
What impact does such messaging have on us?
Do we notice feeling differently about certain products or brands after seeing them in film or other media? (I’ll admit I noticed myself thinking—Huh, Miller Lite is trendy again? as the younger characters drank it at home on New Years Eve in A Family Affair.)
Can we enjoy these forms of entertainment and maintain a healthy level of discernment so that we are not passively taking on beliefs that may not be our own?
Are there young people in our lives we should be talking with this about?

Signing off and looking forward to re-entering the world today. It’s been a lovely week at home (albeit unexpectedly), but boy am I ready to get out a bit.

Love. ❤️