During the festive season predominately, and throughout the rest of the year, hard-hitting TV and video campaigns are produced whose explicit aim is to direct public attention to the devastating effects of drink-driving, however, there are also adverts warning of the dangers of alcohol consumption for pedestrians, too.
Here is a brief selection of these campaigns, from across Western Europe, highlighting the dangers of alcohol and road use.
1 – Road Safety Authority (RSA) of Ireland—Drunken Pedestrian Campaign
The advert focuses on the dangers for pedestrians who have consumed alcohol. A man is walking, at night, along the side of the road which is ominously beginning to break up as cars drive by. He manages to reach the local pub, but unfortunately by the time he leaves he is drunk and no longer capable of minding where he is walking. The ending concludes with the snappy catchphrase: “Going out? Plan getting back.”
2 – Department for Transport, UK—THINK! Don’t Drink Drive, 50th Anniversary Advert
This advert is a darkly ironic contrast between the words of a pop song that the police, paramedics and firemen are drearily singing (the 1980s party hit “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang) and the onerous task of dealing with a horrific car accident (according to their respective duties): cutting a driver or passenger from a car, resuscitating the victim, or informing a relation that a loved one is deceased. The advert concludes with the phrase: “Think! Don't drink and drive”.
3 – Securité Routiere du Gouvernement—France—Alcool au volant "Le choix" [Alcohol behind the wheel: the choice”]
In this scenario some friends are sitting around a dining table, merrily eating and drinking. The dinner party is winding down and some people are preparing to leave, but there is a problem: one of the male guests has had way too much to drink and wants to drive home. A voiceover quizzes the viewers after each scene, asking them what they would do in the same position; offering them the choice of two possible answers, as follows:
A – Suggest that he sleeps here.
B – Do not say anything.
A little later:
A – Insist that he calls a taxi.
B – Do not insist as he might take offense.
Last chance, before he walks out:
A – Take his car keys.
B – Don't do anything, as, after all, he is old enough to know what he is doing. Not my problem, in other words.
The final scene demonstrates the man being rescued but seriously injured following a crash and explains the results of choosing the wrong answers:
B – Now it is also MY problem.
The video ends with the conclusion: “If you really care for somebody, you should stop him/her”.
4 – Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT)—Spain—Al volante, ni una sola gota de alcohol [Behind the wheel, not even a single drop of alcohol]
In this advert a man going is enjoying a drink at a chic night club, the voiceover tells us:
“A couple of beers and everything changes, the world is yours. Two glasses of wine and you’re more attractive. One shot and you’re the person you would love to be. But when you get back to reality, you are going to pay the price [the guy swerves and crashes his car on the way home]”.
The final sentence: “Behind the wheel, not even a single drop of alcohol.”
