Exposure to alcohol adverts or other audio-visual content (AVC) in the media is associated with alcohol initiation and subsequent use by adolescents (Anderson et al. 2009; Smith and Foxcroft 2009; Hanewinkel et al. 2012; Chang et al. 2016) and adults, especially those with/at risk of an alcohol use disorder or those in recovery (Alcohol Focus Scotland 2022).

Reality TV programmes are an effective medium for advertising and promotion to the young audiences they are popular with, and have a history of being used in this way (Deery 2004). This has included the promotion of unhealthy commodities such as the use of Lucky Strike cigarettes in Love Island (Barker et al. 2018) or Smirnoff Vodka in Geordie Shore (Lowe et al. 2018). Content analyses in this area have shown how the alcohol industry may use these programmes to promote their products (Barker et al. 2018) and bypass international advertising regulations (World Health Organization 2022). Highlighting this alcohol industry tactic has led to the removal of this content from future iterations of these programmes (Barker et al. 2023), thus having a positive impact on public health.

According to social learning theory (Bandura 1977), people will imitate the behaviours of influential others, positing the idea that reality TV influences peoples’ behaviours based on what they see on screen (Stefanone and Lackaff 2009). In this way, reality TV programmes could be considered a major driver of unhealthy behaviours among their viewership.

Reality TV programmes have been shown to contain a large amount of alcohol content and branding (Barker et al. 2023). While Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been previously explored (Barker et al. 2023), season 2 of the new iteration of the show, The Kardashians, has received media attention due to the amount of alcohol promotion occurring in the show, with viewers saying ‘it’s just constant ads and product placement’. This is in particular with regard to family member Kendall Jenner’s tequila brand, 818 (BuzzFeed 2022). The programme follows the daily lives of the Kardashian family as they navigate ‘motherhood, relationships and career goals’, with an international age rating of 16 (Internet Movie Database 2024). Season 2 of The Kardashians was made available to stream via Disney+ in late 2022, allowing the programme to be viewed internationally (despite country-specific alcohol regulations) and resulting in potential cross-border promotion of the 818 alcohol brand.

In the UK, the Disney+ streaming service is popular with 23% of subscribing homes (Ofcom 2022). Similar to traditional broadcast TV, Ofcom, the independent broadcast regulator, regulates Disney+ (Ofcom 2022). The Ofcom Broadcasting Code (Ofcom 2017) protects under-18s by restricting depictions of alcohol use in programmes made for children, and discouraging the glamorisation of alcohol use in programmes likely to be widely seen, heard, or accessed by children. While the broadcasting code prevents paid-for alcohol product placement, brands can still appear in programmes if they are considered ‘editorially justified’ and were acquired at no significant value, with providers not being paid for inclusion of the product (Ofcom 2021, 2017). We have previously demonstrated that young people view the show Keeping up with the Kardashians; it delivered approximately 2.5 million alcohol impressions to under-16s in the UK (Barker et al. 2023), and it is likely that young viewers will also watch the present iteration. Furthermore, we have suggested that alcohol producers may be using reality TV programmes to circumvent the Ofcom Broadcasting Code by having their products featured as props in programmes, therefore receiving brand exposure (Barker et al. 2023). This is especially pertinent, considering that the World Health Organization considers identifying and restricting cross-border alcohol promotion (World Health Organization 2022) and promoting a global and comprehensive approach to regulating alcohol advertising a goal of its European framework for action on alcohol (World Health Organization 2022). As the programme is broadcast worldwide, it is important to identify alcohol content and marketing within this programme. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the amount of alcohol content and branding in season 2 of the reality TV show The Kardashians.