Driven by 10 Downing Street

It is not every day that one is reminded about the perils of drunken driving as he gets into his car after a shot or two at the bar. A noble thought it is, and was brought to life by 10 Downing Street, a popular pub in Chennai, along with the Chennai Traffic Police as a part of its anniversary celebrations.

Conceptualised by Dentsu India, the pub carried out an activation in Chennai where, to get invited to the 10 Downing Street anniversary celebrations, a page 3 event, patrons were asked to 'like' the pub's Facebook page. By doing so, the patrons gave access to their profiles, and most importantly, their photo albums on Facebook.

The pub chose pictures of them with their friends and/or family having a great time, slapped its message onto these pictures, and printed them on a transparent sheet. A special ink was used, that would only show in UV light.

After a night of partying, when guests were ready to leave, the agency stuck these printouts on the windshields of their cars. The moment they got in and turned the key, the concealed UV light above came on, illuminating the picture and the message, and got them to ask for a driver. As a part of the anniversary, 10 Downing Street had organised drivers who would drive their patrons safely back home at no cost.

As a result of the activation, out of 180 patrons, 93 opted for drivers. Patrons across 10 Downing Street's eight branches have been a part of the activation and received the message, and opted for drivers.

Speaking about the campaign, Nagesh Reddy, proprietor, 10 Downing Street, says, "As a pub, we have always encouraged responsible drinking among our patrons. The activity done by Dentsu just reinforces this interest we show to our patrons."

Rathish P Subramaniam, senior creative director, Dentsu India, says, "Driving after drinking is an irrational and impulsive decision. To address this issue, a public service message wasn't good enough. There is nothing more hard-hitting than reminding a person how disastrous an accident would be not just for them, but for their family too. We got 10 Downing Street's patrons to realise this by making a public service message a bit more personal."

Last year, spirits company Bacardi endorsed the message of responsible drinking with 'Walk the Line', an on-ground activation at Club Lemp in Gurgaon where, after a night of partying, people were made to walk on a straight yellow line by placing one foot in front of the other until they reached the other side. If and when the person reached the end of the strip, a set of lasers further confirmed if he or she was sober enough to drive. The lasers, placed on either side of the strip, detected deviations from the strip, triggering an alarm if the patron failed the test: the person was provided chauffeur-driven cabs for the ride back home.

The Bacardi activation was conceptualised by Webchutney, which is now a part of Dentsu India.