PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Youth today will be exposed to more than 100,000 television, radio, and print ads for alcohol by the age of 18. Their immersion into this constructed version of reality has left most people under the age of 30 unable to conceive of social activities that do not involve drinking. Research indicates that the more children enjoy alcohol ads, the more alcohol they consume. Direct correlation exists between the amount of time spent viewing television and underage drinking, especially if the programs viewed are music videos. Mass media has created a cultural imperative for many children to drink, resulting in other irresponsible choices such as impaired driving and teen pregnancy, and a greater propensity towards alcoholism later in life. Results of a recent survey in Santa Fe County, New Mexico indicated that nearly 66 percent of teens reported finding nothing wrong with being drunk in public.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Ad-Literate campaign was developed in 1999 by the Santa Fe County DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) Division of the Community, Health and Economic Development (CHED) Department, to provide media literacy education to middle school students in Santa Fe County. Specific objectives of the program are to:

• Teach students about the economic pressures placed on the entertainment industry to glorify alcohol use
• Provide youth with the ability to deconstruct the appeals used by alcohol advertisers to suggest that drinking is normal, makes people more attractive and is necessary to have fun
• Change beliefs among targeted youth that alcohol is desirable, and that alcohol advertising is real
• Reduce the social expectations associated with alcohol use, such as popularity, romantic attractiveness and success

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Ad-Literate alcohol abuse prevention curriculum was designed to be presented in middle schools. It teaches youth the critical thinking skills they need to see though the seductive appeals used in alcohol advertising and the mass media, glorifying underage drinking. The program was first implemented in four Santa Fe middle schools during the 1999-2000 school year. Specific activities included in the Ad-Literate campaign include:

• Training teaching staff to establish Ad-Buster Clubs, to produce ads to counter alcohol advertising
• Present media literacy assemblies at middle schools
• Assist teaching staff in the production of student-developed alcohol counter-ads in Ad- Buster Clubs
• Produce and distribute the Ad-Literate curriculum to middle schools in targeted communities
• Evaluate outcomes related to the desired attitudinal changes
• Cablecast student-produced DWI prevention counter-ads in targeted communities

RESULTS
During the 1999-2000 school year, more than 1,600 students received media literacy training through the Ad-Literate program. Ad-Buster clubs were formed at each of the four middle schools, by teachers trained in media literacy alcohol prevention techniques. Four student-developed DWI prevention counter-ads were produced by these clubs and aired more than 200 times on cable networks preferred by youth. An evaluation was conducted of changes in students' attitudes and beliefs after program exposure, using a scientific research design. Evaluation results revealed significant attitude changes in students' identification with alcohol ads and their social expectancies from drinking. These findings were presented at the Alcohol Policy XII Conference: Alcohol and Crime, in Washington, DC, in June of 2000.

FALL 2000