Hasta La Ideas

The DfT has launched a new Think! campaign to mark a change in the law in the UK with regards to driving under the influence of drugs, which comes into force today.

The new law sees specified limits set for both illegal and prescription drugs, with an offence committed if drivers are found with amounts above these limits in their system. To publicise the change, ad agency AMV BBDO has created the spot below, which plays on the paranoia that can be associated with drug-taking.

The spot has similarities with the previous Think! campaign against drug driving, Eyes (shown below), which focused on the fact that your eyes can give away that you have taken drugs.

If anything though, this new spot is more subtle than Eyes, which is now over five years old. Instead of addressing the damage that drug driving can cause to lives, it simply emphasises the fact that the laws have been tightened. This is perhaps due to the complex mix of people targeted in the ad, which includes those who take prescription drugs that may affect driving, as well as those taking drugs for recreation.

As a point of comparison, the DFT’s recent anti-drink driving spot (below), which marked 50 years of drink-driving ads, was significantly more shocking, though over the years the DFT has experimented with many different approaches to get its message about drink-driving across.

Alongside the film shown top, the new drug driving campaign will play out on radio, out-of-home and digital platforms.

Credits:
Agency: AMV BBDO
Creative directors: Steve Jones, Martin Laraine
Creatives: Mike Crowe, Rob Messeter
Director: Frederic Planchon
Production company: Academy