AMV BBDO's Harrowing Spot Marks 50 Years of Drink Driving Ads

It’s 50 years since the first anti drink driving commercial aired on British television. The Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign is using the occasion to remind people that - despite drink drive deaths falling from 1,640 to 230 that is 230 deaths too many.

AMV BBDO has created a 60 second ad that  marks this anniversary, whilst reminding people that drink driving is still the cause of 4 deaths a week on the roads every year. Given the level of social unacceptability surrounding drink driving, the statistics are still shocking. This new film has been created to communicate this and to drive talk-ability both in the media and online. 

The film follows a tragic crash scene and the sequence of events that follow. Throughout each scene, Kool and The Gang’s iconic ‘Celebrate’ song is sung by the cast, reluctantly, whilst they perform their duty. We see the victim being cut out of the overturned car, the desperate revival efforts of the paramedic and ambulance team, and the horrific moment when the widowed mother is told the news. The message is clear: there is no place for celebration until there are no deaths due to drink driving.