The debate over whether beer, wine, and liquor companies should be allowed to advertise their products on television has gained national prominence because of two key developments. First, in the so-called “tobacco wars” of the 1990s, the American public learned, from tobacco industry documents that were made public, that for decades the major tobacco companies had been subtly marketing cigarettes to young people. Many public health advocates began questioning whether the alcohol industry has also targeted young people with its advertising. Second, in June 1996 the Seagram Company began airing ads for its Crown Royal Canadian whiskey on television, thus ending a voluntary fifty-year ban on the airing of liquor ads on television. The move led many parents and politicians to question whether alcohol advertisements should be allowed on television.

Critics argue that alcohol ads that feature animals, such...