Drinking and driving persists, despite all the horror images and dire warnings doled out in campaigns. The battle for good sense continues to search for new ways to turn the drink-driving message into action.
FCB & Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency have made it realistic. Their campaign takes the fun game of Would You Rather? and gives it a real-life twist. A woman’s emotional would you rather is aimed sat her partner’s behaviour the previous night. If the attitude within young social groups is acting as an incentive to drink and drive, it is now being used as a deterrent.
Lauren Cooke, national manager education and marketing at Waka Kotahi, stated, “We need to shift the attitudes and behaviours of our ‘drink drivers’ so that they see themselves in the same way as they see ‘drunk drivers’. This new campaign platform ‘There’s more to lose than your licence’ asks New Zealanders to consider a range of different consequences and the impact these might have on their social group, their loved ones and their whānau.
“While the message to not drink and drive is widely acknowledged and accepted, drivers are still willing to take the chance and we continue to see alcohol impairment as a significant problem in our crash statistics. This is despite lower alcohol limits, tougher penalties and long-lasting marketing campaigns. Building on the traditional approach used in our most recent drink driving campaigns, this campaign seeks to shift the perceptions and behaviours of New Zealanders who still think it is acceptable to drink and then drive.”
Peter Vegas and Leisa Wall, co-chief creative officers of FCB Aotearoa, added, “Attacking the drink driving behaviour in our country is never easy but trying to come at it from a new angle without showing a car crash will make people feel differently and, hopefully, a little uncomfortable.”
The new work is part of the New Zealand Government’s Road to Zero strategy, delivered via by Waka Kotahi and guided by the Safe System approach, which remains the international gold standard in road safety. It recognises that whilst mistakes are inevitable, deaths and serious injuries from crashes are not, and seeks to create a safe and forgiving transport system that makes the safety of people a priority.
Credits:
Client: Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Agency: FCB Aotearoa
Production Company: Exit Films
Director: Gayson Thavat
Executive Producer: Declan Cahill
Associate Producer: James Watson
Casting: Bullock/Mullane Casting 2023
DOP: Maria Ines Manchego
Offline Editor: Cushla Dillon
Colourist: Ben Eagleton
Online: Richard Betts
Sound Design & Original Soundtrack: Karl Sölve Steven
Photographer: Michael Braid
Media Agency: MBM
