Background In Australia, the alcohol industry exposes young people to over 40,000 advertisements a year on social media platforms such as Instagram. Research has linked exposure to alcohol advertising to earlier initiation of drinking among young people, increasing the risk of injury. Ever present is an ‘aquatic alcogenic environment’ whereby drinking in and around water is normalised through environmental influences including alcohol advertising.

Objective This research investigates content posted on the Instagram accounts of popular alcohol brands, marketing strategies used, and extent to which aquatic settings and activities are featured.

Methods We identified five alcohol brands across a range of commonly consumed drink categories (e.g. cider) used by young people in Western Australia. Using a study-specific Instagram account, the pages of each brand were accessed. Account details and the 20 most recent posts from each account were documented. Variables included: number of posts, number of followers and accounts following, use of age-gating, date posted, number of likes and comments, and caption. Each image and caption were then coded using a framework developed for this study. This framework captured aquatic locations and activities featured, adherence to advertising code standards, and the use of advertising themes and marketing elements.

Results A total of 99 posts and 176 individual images were captured. Alcoholic beverages were shown in 53.4% of all images. Aquatic locations featured in 21.6% of images and aquatic activities, including surfing (17.0%). The use of aquatic locations and activities varied significantly by brand (p<0.001). The use of advertising themes and marketing elements varied among brands, with images featuring happiness and fun (22.2%), logos and branding (76.1%), and mateship (22.7%). Only 21.6% of images contained an age restriction or warning, although all accounts were age-gated.

Conclusions Popular social media platforms have provided alcohol companies with easy access, inexpensive ways to promote alcohol to young people. Alcohol brands used highly stylised imagery that associate alcohol with fun and friendship circles and promote the use of alcohol in and around water, leading to the potential for increased risk-taking behaviour and water-related injury.