TV ad kicks off £2.3m drug-driving campaign

Created by Leo Burnett, the TV ad attempts to convince motorists that police can spot that they are drug driving and tells them that if convicted they face the same penalties as people caught over the drink driving limit.

Called 'Your eyes will give you away', the campaign focuses on dilated pupils being a telltale sign of drug use. In the TV the size of the eyes of a group of young people in a car have been exaggerated in post-production to illustrate their drug use.

Research by the Department for Transport showed one in 10 young male drivers reported being under the influence of drugs while driving.

Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, said the research showed that young men do not accept that driving under the influence of drugs is dangerous.

He said: "What we are seeking to do with this advertising campaign is to bring about a cultural change, to get people, particularly young men, to take the same attitude to drug driving that for 20 or 30 years we have had with drink driving."

The campaign, which also has a presence in online display, festival sponsorship, in-game advertising and in-pub media, aims to get its target audience to visit a dedicated website, dft.gov.uk/think/drugdrive.

Leo Burnett already handles the drink-driving campaign and child road safety campaign accounts. It was handed the drug-driving account in February, when the account was reported to be worth £1.5m.

The government today said it was spending £2.3m on the campaign.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com