Alcohol consumption appears to be increasing in some developing countries. Groups who previously did not drink alcohol, such as young people and women, are now increasingly beginning to drink. Recent anecdotal observations by researchers in Lesotho suggest that aggressive advertising may play a part in encouraging drinking among the young. This commentary suggests that surveys of alcohol advertising and youthful drinking in developing countries would be particularly useful in monitoring the influence of alcohol advertising in rapidly expanding markets. Recent studies have described simple measures of awareness and appreciation of alcohol advertising which discriminate between under-age drinkers and non-drinkers. These measures could be readily adapted by researchers responsible for the design of surveys of youthful drinking.