Think! Celebrates Life-Long Friendships In New Campaign

Dec. 02, 2021

The Department for Transport today announces its new campaign for THINK! The new work aims to help stop drink-driving ahead of the holiday season and shift perceptions on the consequences of drink-driving. Mates for Life, created by brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R, extends from the highly impactful Pint Block campaign which showed the humorous and surprising ways young people can intervene and stop drink-driving. The new campaign evolves this even further to demonstrate why it's so important to step in.

The Christmas and New Year period is one of the most dangerous times of year for drink driving collisions1, but what's more, risk perception of drink-driving has dropped by over ten percentage points for 17-24-year-old male drivers compared to last year2.

A spokesperson for THINK! said:

"Drink-driving remains a serious issue in the UK – and young men are one of the most at-risk groups, especially over the festive season. We know that young men have strong friendship bonds and want to look out for each other. We hope that this thought-provoking campaign will tap into that drive to protect each other when it really matters."

 

In the first campaign since VMLY&R retained the government account earlier this year, the Department for Transport aims to combat the shift in risk perception and encourage mates to intervene if a friend is about to drink before driving. The campaign highlights the endless opportunities a life-long friendship can bring, something that is worth protecting.

Tamryn Kerr, Creative Director at VMLY&R said:

"Pint blocking your mate and stopping them from driving drunk unlocks a lifetime of adventures for you to have together. We wanted to celebrate one of these adventures in a way that would cut through to a notoriously hard-to-reach audience."

 

Mates for Life further builds on THINK's award-winning Mates Matter strategic platform, which has seen the most significant shift in young men's attitudes towards drink-driving in over a decade. The campaign highlights the success of appealing to humour, positivity, and friendship when speaking to the young men who are most at risk when it comes to drink-driving. Mates for Life launches as an online film and will run across social, with media planning and buying from OmniGov and Wavemaker.