Leo Burnett for Think!/Road Safety Campaign – Man Trapped in Pint Glass

Agency Leo Burnett did some research and found that anti-drink-driving advertising based around crashing and injury was no longer likely to effect the target demographic of young male drivers who don’t believe that driving after drinking a couple of beers is dangerous. The agency found that low-consumption male drink-drivers were more likely to be deterred by personal consequences of a drink-driving conviction.

The idea of this campaign was to play against the seasonal jollity of the Christmas period and to dramatize the experience of isolation, regret and stigmatization brought about by a drink-driving conviction. In December 2007 a real-life convicted drink-driver agreed to be placed inside a specially constructed upturned pint glass. He was thus trapped by his seemingly innocuous decision to get behind the wheel after having one pint too many. The subject was interviewed by national press and broadcast media in Paddington Station as he explained how being convicted of a drink-driving offence had ruined his life: he had lost his job, his girlfriend, his car and a lot of money. An actor then took over the role of the drink-driver up and down the country at locations specially chosen for their proximity to public car parks and areas with a high concentration of pubs and bars (particulary those used by football fans).

The campaign is thought to have contributed to a drop of 20% in breath test failures during the pre-Christmas period of 2007.

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett London
Creative Directors: Tony Malcom, Guy Moore
Creatives: Phillip Deacon, Bertie Scrase
Year: 2007