The Power of YouTube

Project RAD brings you a special edition of video alcohol spots. We warn you that some content is strong. But we wanted to bring you a sampling of what gets posted and what attracts the most online views. Though one of the top viewed videos we found is in French with English subtitles, the message is clear.

Alcool au Volant 

Un jeune plein de bière, une jeune et jolie demoiselle, la nuit au Texas... Les dégâts de l'alcool au volant.

14 million plus views

Alcohol Know Your Limits - Binge Drinking Girl 

You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it that way?
500,000 plus views

Death by Alcohol: The Sam Spady Store 

The documentary film about the life and death of Nebraskan Sam Spady, and the deadly binge drinking epidemic on America's College and University Campuses.

21,000 plus views

College Athletes Breaking the Law

CBS News' Armen Keteyian has published an investigation of college athletes and crime.

Here's an excerpt:

What we found was striking: on those Top 25 teams, more than 200 players were either arrested or cited by the police a total of 277 times. Overall, 7 percent of players - 1 out of every 14 - in our single-season sample had a record.

"These are going to be pretty startling number for a lot of people who are seeing them for the first time," Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, said.

In fact, nearly 40 percent of what we found were serious crimes. Fifty-six were arrested for so-called violent crimes - including 25 for assault and battery, robbery, domestic violence and sex crimes. Forty-one were arrested or cited for property crimes. The more than 100 drug and alcohol-related offenses, included 27 DUI's.

In those cases where we know the outcome - we found that nearly 60 percent of the time, the athlete was either guilty or paid some penalty as a result of his run-in with the law.

For the full story, click here.

Our Props to the Firefighters in Chattanooga

We wanted to give you some good news in this issue, which is often hard to find.

Check out this article and video posted by Fire Rescue 1 newsletter this past week on how a little Michael Jackson music - even in heavy training gear - can rock a department in training.

As one firefighter said: The idea got a lukewarm response at first.

"It was a lot of, 'You want me to put out fires, jump into burning buildings, rip cars apart - and you also want me to dance?' Garner said. "But then they rocked."

FTC Targets Alcohol Advertising

The Federal Trade Commission said in a regulatory filing late last month that it plans to examine digital and social media, including data collection, in its next review of alcohol marketing and youth, which is expected to be published some time next year. "We believe it is time to launch a new major study to measure current compliance with the self-regulatory standards, to look into new developments in alcohol marketing and to determine what additional recommendations, if any, are warranted," said Janet Evans, an FTC senior attorney.

For the full article in Ad Age, click here.

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Supports State Alcohol Control

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request by Wine Country Gift Baskets to review the case of Wine Country Gift Baskets v. Steen. The order brings to an end this online retailer's unnecessarily long and drawn-out challenges to Texas law. In this case, out-of-state, virtual retailers demanded that the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission grant them retail licenses to sell alcohol to Texas consumers.  The state of Texas requires alcohol retailers to have a physical presence (i.e., an actual "brick and mortar" facility with a street address); therefore the request of the out-of-state retailers was denied, consistent with state law. For the complete news release, click here.

FREE Webinar: Effectiveness of Media Campaigns

Host: Drug Free Action Alliance

Time: Tuesday, March 29, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. EST

The webinar "Beyond Billboards & Brochures" will feature three communities, all with different perspectives, who have successfully incorporated environmental prevention strategies into their "Parents Who Host Lose the Most: Don't be a party to teenage drinking" efforts. Panelists represent coalitions of various sizes with diverse histories. Each will share their experience working with law enforcement, businesses, youth and other key community sectors to maximize the impact of this project.

Updates: RAD Newsletter and Website

You'll notice we've added our own YouTube button to the newsletter for a quick reference to our videos posted there. You will also find all of Project RAD videos on our website and also on Vimeo, a free file-sharing site.

A few more reminders:

Our white paper analysis on the ATC's review of nearly 200 Walgreens permits and how citizens fared is available for download on the website's home page.

All newsletters are now archived on the website.

Also, if you have any Indiana produced PSAs you'd like us to post for 2011, just let us know. Partner PSAs are included on our website as often as you send them in.