Home Office and VCCP win July Thinkboxes

by Staff, Brand Republic 27-Aug-08, 08:00

LONDON - A hard hitting TV ad from the Home Office warning young people of the damaging consequences of binge drinking has been voted the July winner of the Thinkboxes creative awards.

The Thinkbox Academy judges made the ad, created by VCCP, the winner ahead of Persil's 'Roboboy' and Irn Bru's 'If'.

Binge drinking is a major social issue in the UK among young people -- they are now drinking twice as much as they were in 1990. The Home Office decided to confront this trend head-on and created a brief that aimed to reduce the amount of binge drinking in the 18- to 24-year-old age group.

The strategy was about getting the audience to think about their behaviour on a night out by posing the question -- Would you do this if you were sober?

As part of a multimedia campaign, two TV ads were created, one aimed at men, and one at women.

The former features a young man getting ready for a night out. In the process, he rips his clothes, pours takeaway food down himself and slams his head on a wardrobe door making his face bleed.

Lina Nisbet, strategic communications advisor at the Home Office, said the aim was to show how drink can turn some men aggressive and violent.

In the female ad, a young woman is shown being sick, breaking her shoes and spilling red wine. Nisbet says the ad questions why someone would spend so long getting ready only to shame themselves later in the evening.

Nisbet said: "These scenarios are ones that people recognise. The theme of getting ready for a night out massively juxtaposes with the feeling of 'how did I get here' at the end of the night.

"It is not about telling people not to drink. It is about drinking sensibly and not ending up in major trouble.

"It is less about finger wagging and more about subtly highlighting the harm that can be done."

To see the full shortlist, go to www.thinkbox.tv/thethinkboxes.