The Brief

Toyota asked us to increase awareness amongst drivers on the dangers of drunk driving. We realized that the best way to do this is to target groups that regularly drink and drive. young people. And the best place to reach them was at the places where they drink: bars and clubs. The problem: bars and clubs in the Philippines don't want to reduce their customers' alcohol consumption because they lose money. So they won't display anti-drunk-driving messages. We therefore decided. Don't tell drinkers to stop drinking just show them how alcohol can affect their judgement while driving.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We created a new media installation - a traffic light of words: Red, Yellow, Green. Except the colors didn't match the words. 'Red' glowed green, 'yellow' glowed red and 'green' glowed yellow - With the message: Alcohol affects your judgement. The solid eight foot tall visual light show. A multicolored spectacle which we knew would be permitted by bar and club owners and would draw crowds because of the flashing lights.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

For the first time many bar/club owners actually permitted an anti-drunk-driving message in their establishments. By successfully penetrating bars/clubs in Manila, we automatically got the attention of our target: young people who regularly drink and drive. The installation was placed in bars/clubs around Manila for nine weeks. Its flashing light display drew hordes of young party-goers. As a result over 50,000 bar/club goers were reminded to sober up before driving. Many of them featured the installation on their websites, blogs and social pages, further spreading Toyota's message to a much larger online audience, raising awareness and fueling discussion online.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Toyota wanted to remind drivers of the dangers of driving drunk. A traffic light is always found at an intersection. At this junction a driver should be most alert as they are open to collisions from cars coming from different directions. The traffic light of words simulates how easy it is to make mistake. Confusing a red light for a green when under the influence of alcohol, could lead to a fatal accident. The material therefore serves a serious reminder in a light manner. This allowed us to penetrate bars and clubs that didn't allow overt anti drunk-driving messages.