Children Find Beer Ads Appealing  Thursday, 20th October  U.S.Television beer ads featuring cute animals appeal to school children and make them want to buy the brand of beer being advertised, says a study in the current issue of the Journal of Health Communication. Researchers showed 66 TV beer ads to 253 children whose ages ranged from 10 to 17. The children rated ads with animal characters as their favourites and ads that focused on products or showed adults as their least favourite. Specifically, the study found that 35 percent of the children agreed that a Budweiser beer ad featuring a rock star ferret replacing talking lizards as the official beer mascot made them want to buy Budweiser. In contrast, only 5 percent said an Anheuser Busch beer ad focusing on a "Legacy of Quality" made them want to buy the beer. Of the 66 beers ads shown to the children, only five did not have elements -- humour, music, people characters, animal characters and story -- that appealed to children. The researchers say their findings reinforce research that shows that alcohol advertising influences young people by creating positive opinions about alcohol, stronger intentions to use alcohol and more alcohol consumption. "This study provides further proof that alcohol advertising influences children who are years away from being able to purchase drink legally. Alcohol advertisers should do a better job of avoiding exposing underage youth to beer advertising -- particularly the kinds of ads with cute animals, humorous story lines and other features that children find appealing.