Giving up drinking alcohol during pregnancy is just about saying “no” – but “just” disguises how difficult that can be for some. There’s habit, difficult to break; social pressure, difficult to ignore; and lack of education – “every now and then is OK”.
Indie agency, Berlin, The Mental Health Commission and Cancer Council WA have partnered to remind women that pregnancy and saying “no” to alcohol around pregnancy are Amazing. The campaign aims to build women’s confidence to say “no” during pregnancy as well as increasing awareness about its harms.
The campaign, Amazing, follows on from the successful Alcohol. Think Again ‘One Drink’ campaign, that resulted in more than four out of five WA women being less likely to drink alcohol during pregnancy.
Julia Stafford, alcohol program manager, Cancer Council WA, stated, “While still clearly communicating that there’s no safe time or amount to drink during pregnancy because any alcohol a mother drinks passes directly to her baby, with this evolution of the campaign the aim was to shift to a strengths-based approach that balanced communicating the harm with building self-efficacy.”
Amazing is built on ongoing testing with the target audience and collaboration with an expert reference group made up of public health experts and lived experience advocates.
Rich Berney, managing partner and executive creative director, Berlin, commented, “Humans are amazing, and pregnancy is one of those periods when our capacity for powerful transformation is on full display. This idea offers viewers a portrait of their deepest power: the jaw-dropping ability to create life. It is a bid to inspire people, and to use their ‘amazing’ capacity to also have an alcohol-free pregnancy.”
The campaign, running across West Australia, covers television, outdoor advertising, social media, targeted digital partnerships and activation in health centres.
John Linton, managing partner and head of strategy, Berlin, stated, “In response to research, across the year, we’ll also be extending the campaign into a content series with women who were recently pregnant and health professionals, going much deeper on the science behind the risk of harm and the strategies that can be used to make saying ‘no’ easier.”
Credits
Client: The Mental Health Commission
Director of Prevention and Wellbeing: Grant Akesson
Assistant Director of Prevention and Wellbeing: Sharene Kocsis
Manager, Public Education and Health Promotion Programs, Prevention and Wellbeing: James Steven-Cutler
Senior Project Officers, Public Education and Health Promotion Programs, Prevention and Wellbeing: Keira Bury & Isabella Pruiti-Ciarello
Client: Cancer Council WA
Alcohol Program Manager: Julia Stafford
Alcohol Policy and Research Senior Coordinator: Tess Fletcher
Creative Agency: Berlin
Managing Partner & Head of Strategy: John Linton
Managing Partner & Executive Creative Director: Rich Berney
Senior Creatives: Melissa Hawkett & Mark Fretten
Creative: Ellysia Burton
Design Director: Will Miles
Production Director: Christina Zimmer
Producer: Matt Barber
Production Company: VERSUS Production
Director: VERSUS (Tanya Babić & Jason Sukadana)
Producer: Autumn Loveday
DOP: Patrick O’Sullivan
Photographer: Elizabeth Looker
Editor: Sean McDermott
Colourist: Matt Campbell
VFX Studio: Siamese Productions
VFX Supervisor & Lead: Merlin Eden
Music: Ian Berney @ Pandacandy
VO Artist: Lucy Peach
Sound Design: Nick Gallagher @ Fable Audio Post
Media Agency: OMD WA
