Created by young Victorians, judged by young Victorians

Top Spin was a statewide competition asking young Victorians (18-29 years) to call out the sneaky tactics used by the alcohol industry to influence them to drink.

Whether it’s spending millions on alcohol advertising or saturating sport with alcohol sponsorships, the alcohol industry has many tricks to try to keep us drinking and spending heavily – they know the more we drink, the more profits they pocket.

We know young people are more likely to be harmed by alcohol products than any other age group. The alcohol industry deliberately targets young people who are drinking the most – so we wanted to turn the tables and give young Victorians the opportunity to have their say.

Top Spin asked young people to submit either a text, an image or a video to express their views on alcohol industry tactics used to influence them to drink. The competition which ran in 2018 and 2019 attracted hundreds of entries over the five-week period. Weekly winners were judged by young people and awarded a prize.

Evaluation found 92 per cent of participants reported increased concern about alcohol harms and more than half discussed the issue of alcohol industry influence with friends or family. Additionally, over eight in 10 (86 per cent) who participated in the program believe that there needs to be a change NOW in reducing the amount of alcohol promotion around sport.

Top Spin was only made possible with the support of:

• Alcohol Policy Coalition
• Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA)
• LCI Melbourne
• Melbourne Polytechnic
• Monash University
• Swinburne University
• The University of Melbourne
• Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic) and
• YMCA.

Here's what some of the entrants of Top Spin had to say:

Visit the Top Spin website to find out more.