To change consumer attitudes and behaviours we needed to take a completely different approach to the topic.

We took the item most synonymous with freshening up the morning after and made it a totem for our intentions.

Introducing The Brushalyser.

We created the world’s first breathalyser toothbrush, a game-changing new concept designed to freshen up the drink driving conversation and make people think twice before driving the morning after a night out.

Once finished brushing, users would simply blow into the breathalyser on the back of the fully working prototype; the light flashes red and vibrates if over the limit, and glows green if it’s safe to drive.

The reveal of the Brushalyser aimed to drive behaviour change by getting people to think twice before driving on a morning hangover, embedding this seamlessly into people’s morning routines.

This campaign achieved widespread media coverage across national, regional and broadcastThis was an awareness and behaviour change campaign at heart, and there is no doubt thatthe Brushalyser prompted people to look at the issue differently. Our research revealed males aged 18-24 are the highest offending group to drink and drive while feeling under the influence, and we saw real behaviour change amongst this group:

57% said they would reconsider driving the morning after a night out consuming alcohol because of seeing the concept.

54% would now talk to others about checking themselves the morning after.

A third would now make plans ahead of time to avoid the need to drive the morning after a night out as a result of seeing the concept.

Building on this success, Direct Line is exploring how the Brushalyser could be made a more widespread reality in the future.

Direct Line have a mission to keep the nation's roads safe. With drink driving convictions at their highest rate since 2009, UK police forces reporting an 8% increase in motorists failing breathalyser tests in the morning hours, and 25% of British adults admitting to driving the morning after a night out, despite feeling under the influence of alcohol, it was clear that something needed to be done to get people to check themselves the morning after the night before.

Introducing The Brushalyser.

We created the world’s first breathalyser toothbrush, a game-changing new concept designed to freshen up the drink driving conversation and make people think twice before driving the morning after a night out.

Operates by utilizing both brushing and breathalyzer functionalities in one device. After turning the device on, the user can brush their teeth as normal. The breathalyser feature is activated by blowing onto the sensor located at the back of the toothbrush.

Open the port cover on the back of the toothbrush, rotate it to reveal the sensor inlet.

Blow onto the sensor from less than 10 cm away until a beep confirms the reading is stored.

The result is displayed both on the screen and visually through LEDs: green for under the limit, amber for caution, and red for over the limit.

Components: On/Off Switch, Breathalyser Sensor, LED Indicators, Charging port.

Development: Feasibility Testing,Concept Development,Engineering Design and Prototyping, Sample production.