Ad Council and NHTSA Continue Buzzed Driving Campaign with New PSAs in Time for Holidays

Ad Council and NHTSA Continue Buzzed Driving Campaign with New PSAs in Time for Holidays

Sixth Annual TVB Roadblock Will Include New TV Spots to Broaden Campaign Focus to Women

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are continuing their drunk driving prevention effort with a new series of television public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to remind viewers that "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving." The campaign is an extension of the highly successful "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" campaign and the new PSAs debut in time for the winter holidays, a time when alcohol-impaired driving fatalities are at their highest.

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Since the 1983 inception of the Drunk Driving Prevention campaign, alcohol-related traffic fatalities have dropped significantly and the term "designated driver" has become a part of American culture. However, in 2008 nearly 12,000 people died in crashes where a driver or motorcycle operator had a BAC of .08 or higher. While alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2008 declined nearly 10 percent from 2007, according to NHTSA, impaired driving remains one of the most frequently committed crimes in the U.S., killing approximately one person every forty-five minutes.

The Ad Council and NHTSA began focusing the campaign on individual responsibility in 2005 with the "Buzzed Driving" campaign. The "buzzed driver" is one who drinks and drives, but does not consider himself or herself a hazard on the roadway because he or she is "just buzzed." The campaign is designed to correct that misperception by communicating that you don't have to be falling down drunk to be too impaired to drive and that even a few drinks can impair driving. The campaign tagline instills the notion that if you are "buzzed," you're too impaired to drive safely by asserting that "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving."

The Buzzed Driving PSAs have previously targeted young males (ages 21 to 34), the group most likely to engage in this risky behavior. However, research shows that the percentage of females who have been involved in alcohol-impaired driving crashes has risen in recent years. In fact, nationwide the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was nearly 30 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men was 7.5 percent lower, according to FBI Crime data. As a result of these statistics, the campaign has broadened its focus to female drivers with the launch of new television spots this week.

Created by Boston-based ad agency Mullen, the new PSAs continue to raise awareness of the tragic consequences of buzzed driving. The TV spots use hyperbole to depict how just as you could hurt or kill someone if you choose to drive buzzed, you could avoid hurting or killing someone by choosing not to drive buzzed. To view the PSAs, please visit www.adcouncil.org. To coincide with the upcoming holidays, the Ad Council and NHTSA are also re-distributing the male-targeted ads that launched last year.

"According to our consumer research and the latest government data, our Buzzed Driving campaign is helping to change attitudes and behaviors, and significantly decreasing the number of alcohol-related fatalities in our country," said Peggy Conlon, Ad Council President and CEO. "These new TV spots created by Mullen continue to communicate our critical life-saving message and I believe they will have a similar impact on women."

"While traditionally the message has been to frighten and shun the drunk driver, we thought we'd try something a bit more optimistic," said Mark Wenneker, Executive Creative Director at Mullen. "Why not celebrate the person who doesn't drink and drive? Ultimately the decision not to drive drunk or buzzed is gigantic. Maybe not gigantic enough to deserve a handshake from the Pope or have a ship named after you. Unless, of course, you're the family who didn't get killed that night. They may beg to differ."

The Ad Council and NHTSA are partnering with the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) for the sixth straight year on an industry "roadblock" in which all local broadcast television stations are being encouraged to donate airtime for the TV spots during the time period between Christmas and New Year's Eve. The new TV spots are debuting exclusively on local broadcast television stations as part of "Project Roadblock 2009." Last year's roadblock with TVB reached stations in media markets representing more than 99 percent of the country. As a result of the media's ongoing support, according to Ad Council tracking studies conducted annually, the proportion of young men who reported recently having refrained from impaired driving nearly doubled, from 17 percent in January 2006 to 41 percent in January 2009. Also, the proportion of young men who reported that they would always get a ride from a friend if they were out socializing and felt "buzzed," increased from 39 percent in 2006 to 52 percent in 2009.

Additionally, in an effort to further engage young men and women in the "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" campaign, NHTSA and the Ad Council are kicking off a comprehensive social media program this week, which includes outreach on Twitter and Facebook; the development and promotion of a new video featuring a woman's experiences with "buzzed driving"; an interactive online game, which will highlight the subtlety of buzzed driving; a Facebook application that will personalize the latest drunk driving statistics; and outreach to blogs and online editorial sites that reach young adults. The social media program will direct audiences to visit http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org/ where they can interact with the social media elements and take a pledge not to drive buzzed.

The new TV spots are being distributed digitally to stations nationwide today via Satellite, Adspot and FastChannel. The PSAs will air in advertising time that is donated by the media. Since its launch, the Drunk Driving Prevention campaign has received more than $1.3 billion in donated media support.

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Video: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/41591

Source: The Ad Council

CONTACT: Ellyn Fisher of The Ad Council, +1-212-984-1964,
efisher@adcouncil.org; or David Swaebe of Mullen, +1-617-226-9932,
dswaebe@Mullen.com

Web Site: http://www.adcouncil.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment