Our challenge: Inform and raise awareness amongst male drivers about the potentially devastating effects of drinking and driving over the peak 2010 festive season.The creative idea: Through focusing on the most plausible chance an otherwise law abiding citizen has of being locked up for a few hours, a night or longer, we focused on a scenario dramatizing the reality of sharing a jail cell with convicted criminals.

Most South African males don’t consider themselves to be criminals. However, many, if not most, have driven whilst being over the legal alcohol limit at some point in their lives. Research indicates that 50% of people who die on the roads have a blood alcohol concentration above 0.05 gram per 100 millilitres, the legal South African limit.We arrived at a simple insight, “it won’t happen to me”. People somehow don’t believe that they will “get caught” or that they will be involved in an accident when they drink and drive.TV and radio were used as the big awareness drivers and leveraged by PR to capitalize on the creative idea’s hard-hitting and honest stance, a major departure from conventional messaging synonymous with the category.

A digital initiative in collaboration with Thunda.com, a popular social photo website, was developed to target young male drivers.

Did the campaign work? Yes.•The campaign generated R13 696 489.51 worth of free publicity locally within the first four months of launch and managed to do so with an overall media budget of R 4 867 972,08. (If the media coverage had been purchased, the equivalent total advertising spend would have been R4,565,496.59 – 93,78% of the actual media budget for the entire campaign)•Both spontaneous and prompted awareness of Brandhouse Drive Dry increased through the “They’d Love to Meet You” campaign.•The campaign created a buzz locally and was featured within leading local and international media news channels and portals.•The campaign was commended by the Western Cape Minister of Transport, Robin Carlisle.•The public got behind the campaign and created a Facebook group with 16 388 members.

• “Papa wag vir jou” (Daddy’s waiting for you) was picked up in social circles as a reminder to friends of the potential consequences of drinking and driving.

(The sources of the above information are included in the footnotes of the case study.)