While these responsible drinking ads (done by Lowe Bull and velocity films) are arguably not the most comfortable to watch, this very fact makes them quite effective and in my opinion, incredibly potent.
I believe that we’re almost immune to the exaggerated worst-case-scenario warnings when it comes to ads intended to address social behaviour to prompt change and this is especially true with responsible drinking campaigns.
In the case of responsible drinking, the typical scenarios that are perceived to make an impact on people include the major consequences of being drunk and drunk driving, which may seem the obvious route in order to be hard-hitting. But what I feel hyperbolic ads tend to ignore are the underlying (and far more subtle) structures and norms that perpetuate drunken behavior and the tolerance of it.
I believe South Africans are quite lenient in this regard and there is a very blurred line between excessive and moderate drinking. In fact, I think our idea of excessive is perhaps even a little distorted.
These ads are more representative of a thorough investigation into ways in which drinking and having too much to drink infiltrates our lives on more relevant and personal levels. The power of this communication is that it subtly prompts viewers to imagine themselves starring in at least one version of their own. Now that’s a little more revealing of the whole truth.
Sources: www.youtube.com, www.cherryflava.com
