Diageo pokes fun at drunks in responsible drinking initiative

Diageo has launched a new responsible drinking campaign that pokes fun at drunks to encourage young people not to drink to excess.

Taking an entirely new tack from previous approaches by Diageo, which highlight the dangers of drinking too much, this latest campaign comprises a funny video capturing a series of embarrassing acts by a range of inebriated people (see below).

The new campaign, which was unveiled today, is called Think How You Drink and hopes to reach more than one million young people across Europe using, initially, an online video.

“With this video we are deliberately using humour to catch people’s attention,” said Malcolm D’Sa, marketing innovation director for Diageo Western Europe.

“Responsible drinking campaigns in the past have tended either to preach or to scare. There is a place for that type of message but we began this campaign by looking at where young adults communicate,” he added.

Continuing, he said, “They are talking online and via social media – and we know that humour is a more effective way of delivering a message across those channels.

“We know that drinking to excess is a serious issue – but our primary concern is to be effective,” he concluded.

The new campaign, beginning with the online video, will launch in the UK before rolling out to Ireland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The Think How You Drink campaign will also feature as part of Diageo’s other responsible drinking initiatives over the next 18 months, including during Fresher’s Week and via the ‘Ask Dave’ alcohol calculator that helps users keep a track of their drinking.