Diageo launches two ‘responsible
drinking’ TV advertisements

Drinks company Diageo spearheaded the alcohol industry’s campaign to be seen as responsible by launching a TV advertising campaign warning of the dangers of excessive drinking. The advertisements, titled ‘Many Me’ and ‘Mirror’, were shown in the London, Manchester and Nottingham regions.

They joined a range of other initiatives such as supposedly new codes of practice on cheap alcohol promotions, increased unit labelling on alcohol containers and the creation of the ‘Drinkaware’ web site taken as a response to the Government’s National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy and its proposed social responsibility charter for alcohol producers and retailers.

The Diageo advertisements, which ran for a two-month period, were set in the different drinking environments of a night out in a bar and at a house party and illustrated how excessive drinking for both men and women could ruin a good evening.

Kate Blakeley, Head of Social Responsibility at Diageo GB commented: “As a leading alcohol producer we recognise we have a role to play in encouraging people to enjoy our drinks responsibly. We hope the campaign shows that no matter where you mix socially, alcohol should be enjoyed in moderation.” Andy Fennell, Diageo Europe Marketing and Innovation Director said:

“This campaign shows the negative impact that irresponsible drinking can have on you and the way others perceive you. It also shows the positive impact of being in control and at your social best. It is an empowering message, demonstrating that how you drink comes down to personal choice. We want people to enjoy alcohol in moderation and hope this campaign, alongside other initiatives from the drinks industry, Government and others, helps to make positive changes to our drinking culture.”

The campaign was based on the notion that drinking too much impairs ‘social currency’, by spoiling the good time that the drinkers and their friends are having. Drinkers were told that pacing themselves and staying in control helped them to avoid this pitfall.

The ‘Many Me’ advertisement showed a man considering the route a typical night out at a bar could go. He saw himself enjoying the company of friends; however, he also saw himself having too much to drink and becoming unruly and messy. The barman’s question to the man at the end, “So, what’ll it be?”, had an obvious double meaning and emphasised the message that everyone has a choice about how much they drink. The end line was “Don’t see a Great Night Wasted”.

The ‘Mirror’ advertisement followed a woman at a house party. At the start of the evening, she was enjoying herself and chatting to friends. Later she became aware that, reflected in the mirror and other surfaces, she was seeing someone who looked like herself also at the party. The difference was this woman’s behaviour – she was losing control and her friends were no longer as warm or welcoming as before. The woman realised that this was her drunk self and the ad closed with the strapline “Make sure you like what you see”.

The introduction of these advertisements follows the successful evaluation of a similar campaign that ran in the Republic of Ireland. The evaluation showed that responsible drinking advertising was an effective way of reminding the customer about issues of individual responsibility and choice in relation to alcohol consumption with:

• 80% of consumers saying they remembered that the ad is for sensible drinking

• 76% saying they would be more likely to consider drinking sensibly having seen the advertisement.

Another initiative taken by Diageo GB was a student unit awareness programme entitled ‘What’s In It?’ reaching 750,000 students across 55 universities, in partnership with NUS Services Ltd. Diageo GB has also funded theatre company CragRats to deliver workshops to 44,000 secondary school pupils, to raise awareness of alcohol issues.