NHS rolls out regional anti-binge drinking TV ads

The activity, created by production company Atticus Finch, broke last week on TV in the Northamptonshire region.

The campaign is being supported by a digital push that includes 4OD and Facebook activity, as well as live events. There are also plans to roll out the activity into cinemas later this month.

The two ads feature a young woman and a young man, suffering from the effects of a ‘wasted’ night. The girl sits on the toilet with her underwear around her knees, as her friend texts to find out where she is. The boy is lying on the toilet floor in a pool of vomit, as his friend tries to get him out to watch the end of the football.

Atticus Finch producer, Jim Waters, said: "The campaign’s shock value was an issue for Clearcast. We had to obscure the most offensive elements with text, in order to secure post-9pm, rather than 11pm, airtime. We put forward a strong argument as to why this issue affects society as a whole, rather than just its target demographic, based on NHS statistics."

In December the NHS launched viral ads as part of a £25,000 ‘Cocktales' campaign designed to highlight the dangers of drink to young people in Derbyshire. One viral showed a woman urinating in the street and was later banned from YouTube for being too graphic.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk