Alcohol Marketing Slide Presentation

The 102 alcohol marketing images in this section were created beginning in 1977 by Alan Blum, MD (when he co-founded the health promotion organization DOC [Doctors Ought to Care]) for use since then in illustrated presentations at more than 300 middle schools, high schools, alcohol studies conferences, continuing medical education courses, and medical schools. (The first 21 images relate to litigation in federal and Texas state courts brought by Philip Morris, Inc. maker of Miller Lite beer an its slogan “We’re having a party”) in 1989 against Dr. Blum and DOC for their “Killer Lite” t-shirt parody (“We’re grabbing a potty”). The lawsuit was summarily dismissed in the Texas court, and DOC prevailed in federal court, which found that the parody was protected by the First Amendment.

Director’s Note: In January 2023 most of the promotional ephemera and original print materials in the Alcohol Marketing Collection of the Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society was acquired by the Center for the History of Medicine at the Countway Library of Harvard Medical School (https://countway.harvard.edu/center-history-medicine).