Saskatchewan-based insurance company SGI is labeling the consequences of drinking and driving through its latest anti-drunk driving campaign.
The company is communicating the costs of drinking and driving—losing your license, a criminal record and heavy fines—through a series of faux alcohol posters placed in bar and restaurant washrooms across the province.
The posters depict labels of fictitious liquor brands. For instance, the ad for “Walker Pale Ale” shows a label featuring a sketch of a man walking along a country road. The copy reads: “Drink and drive and you could have a long road ahead—no license for a year, even for a first time offence. SGI reminds you to drink responsibly and always plan a safe ride home.”
Another ad, for the fake tequila brand “Much Problemo,” features a small black plane flying over Mexico. The copy reads: “A drinking and driving charge can prevent you from traveling. Think about that, muchaco.”
“We wanted to draw people in with a little trickery, rather than the big black, usual dark foreboding drinking and drive message,” said David Bellerive, vice-president creative services and media at Phoenix Group, the Regina-based agency that developed the creative and handled the buy.
“It may be a bit of a lure for someone who is at the bar drinking, ‘Oh what’s this new tequila that’s there’ and then you start to engage with it a little bit, and realize there’s a bit of a different message there,” he said.
The electronic ads feature animated versions of each label and a voiceover.
SGI will look into launching another four or five ads, based on anecdotal feedback from the current campaign, said Bellerive.
