The Pernod Ricard UK marketing campaign in partnership with The Automobile Association will warn against drink driving.

The New AA Populus Survey uncovered the following:

• Almost a fifth of drivers (19%) have driven the morning after a night of heavy drinking, even when they think they could have been over the limit. 

• Over half of drivers (54%) try to avoid drink driving by agreeing a designated driver before a night out.

• Women being more likely than men to agree a designated driver beforehand (58% to 52%). The likelihood to do this also increases with age; 43% of 18–24 year old’s say they would agree a designated driver before going out for the evening to an occasion involving drinking alcohol, increasing to 58% of those aged 65 and older.

The AA survey also highlights the tactics drivers employ to try and counteract being over the limit the morning after. The most popular tactic amongst more than one third (37%) of drivers is to drink lots of water, while almost half of younger drivers aged 18–24 years old will have a fried breakfast (45%). However, although some doctors have indicated that these techniques may help sooth a hangover**, it is less clear that they reduce alcohol levels more quickly. Therefore, Pernod Ricard UK and the AA recommend that if people are going to drive, even early the next day, then they should not drink. 

Commenting, Edmund King, AA president, said: “It is encouraging to see that many people are choosing to select a designated driver before a night out but it’s really important that they also consider arrangements for the morning after too. Alcohol levels in the body can still mean that drivers are over the limit the following morning and we want to ensure that people are fully aware of this when they are making the decision whether or not to get behind the wheel.” “There are many urban myths and rituals used to try to counter hang–overs and reduce blood alcohol levels but the only save method is to drink less or give adequate time for the alcohol to leave your system. The same penalties, such as minimum year’s ban, for drink driving apply the morning after as they do the night before.”

To help provide guidance for drivers about these dangers, this year’s Christmas anti–drink driving campaign from the AA and Pernod Ricard UK will be fronted by a brand from the premium spirit company’s portfolio for the first time ever; Jameson Irish Whiskey. The decision was made in order to target the Jameson brand’s young adult audience, by delivering the serious nature of the message in a visually engaging way.

The anti–drink driving campaign is digitally–focused and exclusively aimed towards 18–34 year old men.  The message will reach this key audience through targeted buying; focusing on consumers whose internet behaviour demonstrates their interest in pubs, clubs and going out – making them an ideal audience to highlight a responsible drinking message from Jameson.  The targeted digital ads will run over the festive season into January 2015 on websites such as:  Time Out, Metro and Transport for London and will feature straplines including, ‘Driving? Enjoy a Jameson some other time’ and ‘The key to a great night. No car key’.   

Denis O’Flynn, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard UK, added: “This year we are using the Jameson brand to grab the attention of young adults who may be tempted to drink–drive. It’s clear that a lot of people are making the right choices but often they don’t realise the dangers of driving in the morning after a night of festivities.   “The Christmas period is a key time for our trade customers and they can also play a role in encouraging people to make sensible decisions when it comes to driving. We would suggest implementing simple ideas in pubs and bars, such as having a local taxi list accessible on the bar or allowing customers to leave their car in the car park overnight, to collect later the following day.”   In total, Pernod Ricard UK and the Automobile Association have run eight anti–drink driving campaigns over the summer and Christmas periods since December 2010.

Further details on Pernod Ricard’s responsible drinking campaigns are available in its ‘Wise Drinking’ brochure: http://pernod-ricard.com/5970/csr/responsible-drinking/wise-drinking