This study tests whether the impact of alcohol advertising on intentions of college age students to drink and their actual self-reported consumption is moderated by their cultural background and mediated by positive expectancies about alcohol use. This study compares alcohol advertising effects on Hmong college-age youth with those of Caucasian college students. Furthermore, it explores within these two ethnic groups differences between under-age drinkers and those of legal drinking age. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires in classroom settings. MANOVA and follow-up ANOVA results indicated that Hmong Americans had lower levels of an intentions to drink of those under the legal drinking age, and developed fewer alcohol-related expectancies. MANOVA also indicated strong association between exposure to persuasive media message (i.e., media and alcohol advertising) and positive expectancies on drinking in Caucasian students. For school administrators this study offers some suggestions for enhancing drinking intervention campaigns, as well as recommendations for future research.