Diageo campaign sets New Year revellers thinking about moderation

Diageo, maker of Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Guinness, will next week launch its latest responsible drinking campaign, designed to make revellers stop and think when celebrating New Year’s Eve. The campaign will run in various digital sites across high-footfall areas in London and New York.

New Year’s Eve is traditionally one of the most celebrated events of the year, with the campaign using a variety of attention-grabbing creatives to encourage drinking in moderation, as well as educating viewers about the consumption of alcohol.

The out-of-home creatives will be shown at seven of the busiest stations on The London Underground. This includes screens inside King’s Cross St Pancras, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Oxford Circus, and Waterloo station, as well as larger roadside screens outside Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square station.

London will see the "Do you really want to go there" assets run, a selection of light-hearted but relatable creatives that inform partygoers of the number of units of alcohol that exist in popular drinks, such as a bottle of wine or a pint of beer, as well as the unwanted consequences that drinking too much can bring. It marks Diageo’s second responsible drinking campaign using the "Do you really want to go there" slogan, after targeting GB university students returning for the academic year in September.

A similar campaign will also run in roadside screens around Times Square in New York City.

“New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest holiday events of the year, a time when people should come together and celebrate with their friends and families," said Kate Gibson, Global Society Director. "When it comes to alcohol, responsible drinking doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the festivities, and we hope this campaign will enlighten consumers about the importance of moderation.”

Diageo is committed to promoting moderation and addressing the harmful use of alcohol as part of its 10-year sustainability action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress, by reaching one billion people with targeted messages of moderation by 2030. This campaign is the latest step in Diageo’s continued commitment to promote responsible drinking, with ongoing programmes including "Wrong Side of the Road", aimed at changing attitudes towards drink driving and "Smashed", aimed at tackling underage drinking. Diageo has a strong track record of ensuring its brands depict and encourage only responsible drinking. Recent campaigns include "Guinness Clear" and "Mates Don’t let Mates Drink and Drive" from Captain Morgan.