With the festive party season upon us once more (where does the year go), THINK! is relaunching its ‘Mates for Life’ campaign.

Drink driving amongst younger driving appears to be on the rise and less of a taboo amongst young people.

In some ways it reveals the success of decades of campaigning on the issue that proved so effective with older generations. Now, the younger generations of drivers appear not to understand the very real dangers to all road users.

Raising questions

THINK! research shows that 8 in 10 young men agree it is unacceptable to drive over the legal limit. They also state they have a personal responsibility to intervene, yet almost a third say they would feel uncomfortable asking a friend not to drink when they were driving.

It seems that whilst there is an acceptance that it is wrong, practically acting on this view is less apparent. 

This winter, THINK! is re-launching the ’Mates for Life ’campaign to empower friends to intervene. If the situation arises, then the prompting message is: ‘A mate doesn’t let a mate drink drive’.

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Being a friend

The campaign leads with the Mates for Life film which illustrates a young man urging his friend not to drink and drive. He reminds his friend of the lifelong friendship and adventures they are yet to have.

This follows on from last winter’s successful campaign. This led to 7 in 10 young men taking action as a result of seeing THINK! campaign material. 

These films are running across Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit with paid promotion. They are further supported with other resources to target potential drivers closer to the moment of risk. New beermats and digital posters encourage young men to intervene. They help and encourage awareness by listening out for justifications for drinking before driving.  

0%

THINK! is once again joining forces with drinks producer Diageo. Jointly they are promoting the campaign and offering free no/low alcohol alternatives to designated drivers.  Over 470 participating pubs will provide drivers with a free Guinness 0.0% to enjoy.

Diageo’s have developed a new ‘Wrong Side of the Road’ tool. It provides an interactive online experience to learn about the consequences of drink driving.  

The THINK! team is calling on road safety professionals to support the campaign by sharing the creatives and messages. A stakeholder toolkit containing asset links and post copy is available via the THINK! website.